The student of Geography Education, Faculty of Social Sciences, Yogyakarta State University, class of 2015, Yuli Widiyatmoko, won first runner-up in the event of the 1st Indonesia Geographic Student Summit 2016 Infographics Contest organized by the Indonesian Student Association of Geography at the University of Muhammadiyah Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara on 27-29 April, 2016. The event was attended by 27 universities from all over Indonesia. Among them are the University of Indonesia, Institute of Technology Bandung, Institute of Agriculture Bogor, Gadjah Mada University, and many more.
The 1st Infographic Contest of Indonesian Geographic Student Summit 2016 had the main theme of "Geomaritim: The Role of Creative and Innovative Youth in Realizing Indonesia as A Maritime Country" with four sub-themes including; geographical applications, environment, socio-culture, and economy. The Infographics tool created by Yuli Widiyatmoko took the subtheme of environment with the title of `The Sand Dune Restoration of Parangkusumo as A Prototype of Integrated Coastal Management`. According to Yuli Widiyatmoko, the title raised the fact that the background of sand dunes in Parangkusumo, nowadays, has been damaged by more than 70% of the total area of sand dunes in Parangkusumo. “The damage caused was one of them, namely a loss of some typical landforms of the sand dunes, one of which is Barchan" said Yuli. It is the only sand dunes found in Indonesia, which is in Parangtritis, Kretek District, Bantul, Yogyakarta. Sand dunes in Parangtritis are a rare natural phenomenon and the only one in Southeast Asia. Sand dunes are in the form of hills or mounds of sand like in a desert in the Middle East. These sands are the result of volcanic activity of Mount Merapi and Merbabu carried by the currents of Opak and Progo rivers. The sand dunes have become a natural laboratory that is often used for research.
Yuli Widiyatmoko explained that the restoration of sand dunes in Parangkusumo is an important step to preserve the unique landform. "Restoration can be done by relocating the wind breakers that make the conveyance of volcanic material change" he explained. The wind-breakers are such as trees, buildings, as well as shrimp farms in the coastal side of Parangtritis. With the backing of regulation between the local government, researchers, and also people around, the restoration process is expected to run well and it will affect tourism development of Parangkusumo’s sand dunes.
The Infographic judging process was from the aspect of the work’s creativity level, innovation, and also the actuality of the issues raised and the accuracy of the data used. With his background in the Geography Education, Yuli Widiyatmoko felt responsible for the preservation of the natural environments. It also proves that despite the background of the education department, the Geography Education’s students are not only prepared to be a competent teacher of geography but also are equipped with the knowledge of physical geography, social, and also techniques that contribute in the environmental awareness. (Yuli W)
