FS-10 USK Plants Mangroves for the Future of the Aceh Coast

Students who are members of Sobat Bumi Indonesia Regional Aceh and Recipients of the 10th Sobat Bumi Pertamina Foundation Scholarship (PFS-10) carried out a mangrove planting action in Mangrove Park Lampulo, Banda Aceh, on Saturday (24/08), this activity received full support from Syiah Kuala University (USK).

The event with the theme "Grow: Planting Mangroves for a Green Earth" succeeded in planting 300 mangrove seedlings of the Bruguiera cylindrica type, which is known as a rare type of mangrove. Fikri, an administrator for the Kutaraja Mangrove Care Youth (Pemangku), who also provided material at this event, explained the importance of Bruguiera cylindrica in coastal ecosystems.

According to him, this mangrove has slow growth but is very important because its strong roots are able to prevent erosion and abrasion on the coast. “The seeds we planted today are more than a year old, but they are still relatively short. "However, when they grow up, they can reach 30 meters in height," explained Fikri, one of the action participants.

Dr. Muhammad Ilham Maulana, S.T, M.T, Director of the Directorate of Student and Alumni Affairs at USK, was directly present at the activity as a form of campus support for student initiatives in preserving the environment. He explained that this activity was in line with USK's vision to encourage students to become agents of change who care about the environment.

Apart from planting mangroves, this event also included an outreach session by FASTANA-TDMRC (Tsunami Disaster Mitigation Research Center), which explained the ecological and social benefits of mangroves. According to FASTANA-TDMRC, mangroves have an important role in mitigating natural disasters such as tsunamis, where their strong roots can dampen waves and reduce the destructive impact on surrounding settlements.

Rajul Mahiza, a participant who is a representative of the USK FISIP Student Executive Board (BEM), admitted that at first he was not very enthusiastic about this activity.

"At first I wasn't very interested, but after being here and experiencing the atmosphere firsthand, I became more enthusiastic," said Rajul.

"I finally planted up to eight seedlings, and felt satisfaction when I saw the seedlings standing on previously empty land," he added.

Through this action, PFS-10 hopes to have a significant long-term impact on the sustainability of Aceh's coastal ecosystem. They also hope that this collaboration between various student organizations, research institutions and universities can continue and produce activities that are beneficial to the environment and wider society.