The postgraduate lecturer service team consisting of Dr. Ir. Anthon Efani, MP, Prof. Dr. Asfi Manzilati, ME., Moh. Shadiqur Rahman, S.Pi., MP., Ph.D, assisted by five postgraduate students, helped provide a solution to the problem of declining income from the tourism sector in the Clungup Mangrove Conservation (CMC) Tiga Warna area due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is still having an impact today.
Head of the postgraduate lecturer service team, Dr. Ir. Anthon Efani, MP explained that the community service team provided assistance in the form of measuring water quality and building crab houses.
“Purchasing crab seeds, setting up crab houses at three points, purchasing feed are carried out by the service team. The partners help with the problem of securing the crab house. “This mentoring activity will be carried out from August to November 2023,” said Anthon.
Besides utilizing the mangrove area in CMC Tiga Warna area. Through discussions between CMC Tiga Warna management and the service team, mangrove area will be developed as a cultivation site to make maximum use of the ecosystem or implement a silvofishery or cultivation program in mangrove area.
“Our focus in this service is to support community ideas regarding cultivation in mangrove or silvofishery areas. “As well as actively participating in the program to realize mangrove crab cultivation by bringing in experts,” said Anthon Efani as chief executive
This idea was approved by the Three Color CMC Team. Cultivation activities in the mangrove ecosystem are one way to improve the economy and use nature as an alternative for communities, especially those affected by the post-pandemic.
Furthermore, based on the review carried out by the service team and assisted by CMC Tiga Warna partners. Of the several areas where it is possible to carry out a silvofishery system, the Kondang Buntung area was chosen to carry out the silvofishery system. This is because the location is suitable for good water quality for cultivating mangrove crabs. The water quality in question includes nitrate, nitrite, pH, minerals, salinity, DO and ammonia. In addition, the location in Kondang Buntung was chosen because at low tide there is still standing water, unlike other locations where there is no water at low tide.
“Our hope is that this program can make CMC Tiga warna more productive and able to provide benefits to all levels of society,” concluded Saptoyo.
CMC Tiga Warna is an ecotourism area located on the southern coast of Malang Regency, this area is very interesting to develop.
The development of ecotourism cannot be separated from various obstacles. One of the big obstacles faced is the COVID-19 pandemic which has had a significant impact on local communities to date.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, people are required to be more creative in dealing with existing problems. People living in ecotourism areas affected by COVID-19 are starting to think about looking for other alternatives if a similar pandemic occurs, namely by exploiting other potentials in the tourism sector.
“The pandemic is a valuable lesson for us, that tourism services as a form of service that we have offered so far as an economic effort cannot always be completely relied on as the main income in difficult conditions such as the pandemic. We hope to have other sources that can become an option to support the community’s economy in the form of concrete products,” explained Saptoyo as chairman of CMC Tiga Warna. (*/OKY/UB PR/ Trans. Iir).
