The Board of Professors of the Academic Senate at Diponegoro University (UNDIP) organized a “UNDIP’s Professor Talk” Webinar on Friday, May 31, 2024, at 1:00 PM WIB. The webinar was held online via Zoom meeting and broadcast live on the official YouTube channel UndipTV. The theme of the webinar was “Mitigating Flood and Drought Disasters Against Extreme Climate Change.”
The event was officially opened by the Chairman of the Board of Professors of the UNDIP Academic Senate, Prof. Dr. Ir. Purwanto, DEA. In his opening remarks, Prof. Purwanto stated that the disaster issues currently happening in Indonesia are highly relevant to the webinar’s topic. Earlier this year, there were several major floods, including one in Demak Regency, which experienced two floods in a short period.
“Hydrometeorological disasters are related to how rainwater is managed through rivers, but the rivers’ capacity is inadequate, leading to levee breaches. This is very interesting for universities and also the National Research and Innovation Agency (Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional / BRIN) to start thinking about how to tackle the annual flood disasters,” explained Prof. Purwanto.
“When floods occur, we massively talk about floods, their causes, infrastructure, and how to handle them. However, once the floods are over, efforts to prevent them from happening again the next year are not promptly undertaken,” Prof. Purwanto added.
It is ironic that during the dry season, some places that experienced floods during the rainy season also face drought. “In some places, year after year, drought problems also arise. Ironically, sometimes, in the same places that experienced floods, drought occurs in the subsequent period,” said Prof. Purwanto.
Prof. Purwanto hopes that this webinar will produce policy briefs that can then be followed by concrete actions, benefiting not only academics and researchers but also the general public.
“Of course, everything requires planning and collaboration, and this has already begun with collaboration among thinkers. It is hoped that BRIN, together with UNDIP, can produce models and efforts that the community can easily implement. These efforts can start from prevention, during emergency conditions, post-disaster recovery, and addressing social impacts,” said Prof. Purwanto.
At the same event, the Chairman of Commission D of the Board of Professors, Prof. Ir. Vitus Dwi Yunianto Budi Ismadi, M.S., M.Sc., Ph.D., IPU., revealed that the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) recorded more than 600 disasters in Indonesia from January 1 to April 15, 2024, including floods, landslides, forest fires, earthquakes, and erosion. “This condition is the main focus of the expert speakers in this webinar,” said Prof. Vitus.
The webinar, moderated by Prof. Dr. Ir. Sriyana, M.S., featured three speakers: Prof. Dr.Sc. Anindya Wirasatriya, S.T., M.Si., M.Sc. from the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences UNDIP, who presented on “Processes and Impacts of Extreme Climate Variability on Flood and Drought Disasters in Indonesia.”
The second speaker was Prof. Dr. Irfan Budi Pramono, M.Sc. from the Research Center for Limnology and Water, BRIN, who discussed “Mitigating Flash Flood Disasters.” The third speaker was Prof. Dr. Ir. Syafrudin, CES, M.T., IPM., ASEAN Eng. from the Faculty of Engineering UNDIP, who explained “Mitigating Drought Disasters.”
The webinar was also attended by the Chairman and Secretary of the Academic Senate, the Chairman and Secretary of the UNDIP Board of Professors, the Chairpersons and Secretaries of Commissions A, B, C, and D of the UNDIP Board of Professors, and numerous guests.
