UNAIR NEWS – Another achievement came from Mohammad Wahyu Syafi’ul Mubarok, or familiarly called Wahyu students of Faculty of Physics and Technology (FST) Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR). After he became the only East Java delegation at 2019 Indonesian Youth Marine Debris Summit at the end of August, Wahyu listed as one of the ASEAN Youth Initiative Conference (AYIC) delegates in Bandung.
AYIC was held on 9-12 September at Universitas Padjadjaran. The activity brought students from various countries to exchange innovation in overcoming problems in several fields, such as health, economy, education, and environment that occurred in ASEAN region.
“I have to submit papers according to the chamber. I’m focused on handling the issue of coral reefs in ASEAN because some ASEAN countries are including the Coral Triangle region with the most biodiversity in the world, “he explained.
However, the Coral Triangle region continues to experience coral bleaching or damage to corals due to human pollution. One issue that raised as a point for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is reducing ocean acidification. Ocean acidification is a phenomenon of decreased seawater PH as a result of the amount of carbon absorbed in the waters. This condition caused by pollution from waste factories in the mainland and has a very deadly impact on coral reefs.
“Without a coral reef, there will be no life below water (underwater life, ed). Thus, I chose Reducing Ocean Acidification by Optimizing Blue Carbon to Combat Coral Bleaching as the main weapon to treat coral reefs and also reduce ocean acidification, “explained Wahyu.
“Blue carbon is a coastal ecosystem consisting of mangroves, seagrass beds, and coastal wetlands. I pick mangroves because all parts of mangroves can absorb carbon, ” he added.
Interestingly, Wahyu admitted the initial idea regarding his paper was obtained while he attended a conference in Malacca last July. During the writing process, he prepared National Student Musabaqoh Tilawatil Quran (MTQ) competition in Aceh.
In addition to qualifying as a scholarship delegation and free of accommodation costs while participating in AYIC, Wahyu also won the Best Paper award for the ideas that he wrote.
Wahyu revealed that being a speaker at AYIC gave him the opportunity to freely talk about the sea, coral reefs and climate change. Young people are no longer have to focus on their respective majors. According to him, majors in tertiary study programs can be a bridge to continue to collaborate and learn many things and following global trends.
“I think humanitarian issues, environmental problems are the responsibility of everyone, not certain people. Each individual at least has to know what we are facing and fight for the better future for the earth, “he said.
Wahyu’s active participation in various activities outside campus is certainly not without consequences. Absence of lectures for two weeks, made him have to give up some additional score in class. However, Wahyu did not regret participating in various activities.
“I am sure that I’m not leaving college, but I studied in another form,” concluded Mawapres FST UNAIR 2017. (*)
Author : Zanna Afia Deswari
Editor: Feri Fenoria Rifa’i
