Universitas Hasanuddin (Unhas) through the Environmental Research and Development Center (Pusat Penelitian dan Pengembangan Lingkungan Hidup/PPLH), Institute for Research and Community Service (Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian Masyarakat /LP2M) held an environmental talk show with the theme "Ideas and Conceptualization for Effective Environmental Recovery (Case Study of Masamba Flash Flood)". The activity started at 13.30 pm virtually through the zoom meeting application, Saturday (25/07).

Ir. Syamsul Arifin Lias, M. Si., Dr. Eng. Ir. Farouk Maricar, MT., PU-SDA., And Dr. Ir. M. Rijal Idrus, M.Sc. attended as the main speakers.

The activity was officially opened by the Head of PPLH Unhas, Prof. Dr. Rer. Nat. Ir. A.M. Imran. In his speech, he explained that this discussion was a media to discuss environmental issues, which on this occasion focused on the flood disaster that hit Masamba.

"This activity will be held every week, as a means of exchanging information and also discussing environmental problems that are currently becoming a trend in society," explained Prof. Imran.

After the opening, the activity was continued by listening to a presentation from Ir. Syamsul Arifin Lias, M.Sc., who discussed "Agricultural Resources and Their Response to the Environment". In his presentation, Syamsul said that the agricultural sector has a major contribution to community life. At national level, the agricultural sector is the third largest contributor to Indonesia's GDP structure with a share of 12.84% in the first quarter of 2020.

The government has proposed various programs in the agricultural sector, such as nawa cita (noble ideals), food security, farmer strategic commando, triple helix, and several other programs to achieve the national food sovereignty.

For North Luwu, the agricultural sector is the largest contributor to Gross Regional Domestic Product, which reaches 54.3%. The agricultural sector is a development priority in North Luwu. As a national food contributor, North Luwu has rice fields which cover 28,970.9 ha (2019) with a planted area of 49,005.8 ha and a harvest area of 46,008.8 ha.

"The impact of the disaster in Masamba affected the agricultural sector. Agricultural crops experienced puso (crop/harvest failure), especially on land located on riverbanks. In addition, we also have loss of productive land and income and the threat of food shortages and other sectors," said Syamsul.

At the end of his presentation, Syamsul made several recommendations to anticipate similar incidents. Among them, minimizing and stopping the practice of converting productive agricultural land, optimizing idle land controlled by the region for productive agricultural activities, monitoring river flows in the upstream area with drone technology, especially during the rainy season and conducting studies on land capability and land use policies in riverbanks.

The presentation was then closed by Dr. Eng. Ir. Farouk Maricar, MT., PU-SDA., Who discussed "Environmental Management of Water Resources" and Dr. Ir. M. Rijal Idrus, M.Sc., who discussed "Estuary Dynamics as Mediator of Land and Marine Environment".

The presentation was followed by a question and answer session. The activities was guided by Dr. Eng. Ilham Alimuddin, S.T., M.Gis.. as the moderator. Approximately 50 participants attended the event which ended at 16.00 WITA. (* / Mir)

Editor: Ishaq Rahman, AMIPR

Head of sub-directorate of Public Relation and Information

Directorate of Communication Hasanuddin University

Translator: Kumara Tungga Dewa and Karmila Mokoginta