FPIK, SEMARANG – Lecture activities as well as training and certification of Diving Skills held by the Marine Science Study Program, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences (FPIK) of Diponegoro University (UNDIP) in the Karimunjawa Islands, Jepara Regency should be supported. The reason is, the program that has been running for four years from 2016 to 2019 through collaboration with Kwansei Gakuin University (KGU) Japan is quite attractive to both regular students and foreign students.
Lecturer of Marine Sciences FPIK UNDIP, Dr. Munasik, when interviewed by telephone, Friday (19/6/2021), said the training program called Introduction to Scientific Diving has been running for 4 years since 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and was stopped due to the virus pandemic. corona (Covid-19).
He said that this training activity is a Summer Lecture, the Summer Course is rewarded with 1-2 Semester Credit Units (SKS). “Initially, in 2016 the Marine Science Study Program issued a credit transfer of 1 credit for Japanese students. Because it lasted more than 10 days, Japanese students who took part in the training and then got a Student Identity Card (KTM) from the Bureau of Academic and Student Administration (BAAK),” added Munasik.
He also explained that the learning achievement of this activity is that students are able to dive in SCUBA and are certified as Open Water Divers from the Association of Diving School International (ADS-I). In addition, the lecturers also provide lecture materials on tropical marine ecosystems, namely coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses. “We also educate them to care about marine ecosystems, visit coastal ecosystems and small islands and be involved in repairing coral reefs,” he explained.
Students are also invited to do coral transplantation on artificial APR (Artificial Patch Reef) reef substrates that have been prepared. Every diver who carries out coral transplantation puts up a sign, tagging a name so that it resembles a coral adoption program. “It turns out that the divers have a deep impression of this activity and hope that the transplanted coral fragments can grow and in the future they can witness the growth of the coral colonies. This will encourage participatory tourism programs, tourists will be interested in their next visit,” said the UNDIP Artificial Habitat Research Group Coordinator.
Photo: Dr. Ir. Munasik, M.Sc
According to him, this artificial reef tourism program will have the potential as an alternative underwater tourism object and will have an impact on the variety of tourism objects in Karimunjawa because it can be installed in various shallow water locations on small islands in Karimunjawa. This program is also community-based by involving the community in providing coral fragments for adoption by tourists. “This underwater tourist attraction can also educate the public and tourists to be environmentally aware. And of course, artificial reef tourism objects can contribute to improving the coral reef ecosystem in a sustainable manner,” he said.
Photo: Installation of Artificial Patch Reef by UNDIP and KGU
Why choose Karimunjawa? Munasik said, because there is the only tropical marine ecosystem site that is complete and still preserved. He also said that when he visited KGU Senda Japan, in early 2018, this program was very popular and a favorite for KGU students, besides being expensive it was also very challenging. They must be able to swim and be healthy.
As a result, the number of foreign students participating in Scientific Diving has increased from year to year from 4 students with 2 assistant professors and admins, then increased to 8 people plus assistants. “This program should be a model for the edu-ecotourism tourism package that is unique to Karimunjawa so that it will have an economic impact on the people of Karimunjawa. Because we combine diving training, choralogy lectures and ecotourism. What is it, the results of our research product called APR artificial reefs can become a new underwater tourist attraction for tourists,” he hoped. (Source: undip.ac.id | Tim Humas UNDIP)
