PACITAN, EAST JAVA — Disaster Management Center (DMC) Dompet Dhuafa together with the people of Sidomulyo Village again planted 2000 mangrove tree seedlings (menanam 2000 bibit pohon mangrove) at Soge Beach, Sidomulyo Village, Ngadirejo District, Pacitan Regency on Monday (13/02/2023).
Planting 2000 mangrove tree seedlings are part of the Disaster Response Resilient Area or Kawasan Tangguh Tanggap Bencana (KTTB) assistance program. In this program, the community is given empowerment assistance in disaster management.
“The planting of mangrove seedlings is a form of Sidomulyo KTTB in Pacitan and alhamdulillah has received support from the community, Kodim and Dandim Pacitan, Polsek, Polres, Scout colleagues, and the Sidomulyo Village Disaster Risk Reduction Forum (FPRB),” said Abdul Aziz, one of DMC Dompet Dhuafa’s Community Resilience and Advocacy Team.
“Hopefully, people here will be more concerned about coastal vegetation, which is a barrier to abrasion and traps sedimentation,” he added.
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Previously, in October 2022, DMC Dompet Dhuafa had also planted 2000 mangrove trees in Pacitan. Then, DMC Dompet Dhuafa and the local community built a sea wall with piles of boulder stones on the shoreline. This seawall was built to protect the beach from damage and also increase the supply of sediment, where the sediment can be planted with mangrove trees or hard trees.
The preparation of the seawall structure with concrete buis is carried out to trap sediment, defend the coastline, protect the coast from erosion, withstand river currents during floods and sea tides, and restore coastal estuaries.
Commander of Kodim 0801 Pacitan, Lieutenant Colonel. Inf. Roliyanto, who was also present in the mangrove tree planting activity, hopes that the mangroves planted today can save Soge Beach from abrasion in the future.
“Insya allah, with this mangrove, in the future, specifically for Soge Beach, there will be no more abrasion,” said Lt. Col. Inf. Roliyanto.
Baca juga: Tangkal Abrasi, DMC dan Beberapa Lembaga Tanam Ribuan Mangrove di Pacitan
Abrasion Hazard in Pacitan
For information, abrasion is caused by an imbalance in marine ecosystems where humans exploit the wealth of marine resources such as fish, coral reefs and another biota. So, a current or large wave will directly lead to the beach, which can cause abrasion. When the intensity of abrasion increases, people’s lives and the environment can also be threatened. One of those threats is tidal flooding.
According to Inarisk’s study, Pacitan is one of the areas with the threat of extreme waves and abrasion with a medium-medium category. It is estimated that 12,437 people will be exposed to extreme waves and abrasion in Pacitan. As many as 13 percent are vulnerable groups in terms of age, economy, and disability.
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Incorporating the index of vulnerable communities provides information that the class of residents exposed to extreme waves and abrasion disasters in Pacitan is in the HIGH-class. In addition, it is estimated that the community will also suffer losses of 75.14 billion rupiahs and damage 699.36 ha of the environment if exposed to extreme waves and abrasion in Pacitan. Thus, overall, Pacitan belongs to the HIGH-class category exposed to extreme wave disasters and abrasion.
In addition, this is compounded by the fact that Pacitan’s preparedness capacity index for extreme waves and abrasion is the lowest in preparedness capacity, parallel to the index of technological failures and social conflicts. (DMC Dompet Dhuafa/AFP)