Prof Ir Haryo Dwito Armono ST MEng PhD while presenting his innovation regarding artificial reefs as environmentally friendly coastal protection structures in his scientific oration

ITS Campus, ITS News — Indonesia as a tropical country tends to have many coastal areas, causing the phenomenon of coastal abrasion to often occur. In order to overcome this phenomenon, the 220th Professor of the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) Prof. Ir. Haryo Dwito Armono ST MEng PhD IPM ASEAN Eng innovated the wave breaker structure by utilizing artificial coral reefs as an effort to build with nature .

The professor from the ITS Department of Ocean Engineering explained that building with nature is a development concept that integrates natural processes in infrastructure planning and design. In this case, Haryo utilizes artificial coral reefs as an approach to restore the existence of coral reefs that are now starting to become extinct.

He even mentioned that in the next 20 years, 70-90 percent of coral reefs in Indonesia are threatened with extinction. This is further supported by global warming which causes sea water temperatures to rise. “If left unchecked, the existence of fish will be threatened and fishermen’s catches will also decline,” he added.

Hexareef design by Prof Ir Haryo Dwito Armono ST MEng PhD which is placed at Papua Paradise Eco-Resort as a coastal protector

Furthermore, the man born in Belitung, August 10, 1968 revealed that the side effects of global warming also cause sea levels to rise. This can cause disasters such as coastal abrasion. Haryo explained that coastal abrasion is caused by the continuous pounding of waves, causing changes in the coastline. “If not addressed, coastal abrasion can damage facilities as well as the homes of residents in the surrounding area,” he reminded.

Through a scientific oration for his inauguration as an ITS professor, Haryo also initiated an innovation that could overcome both problems. He created an environmentally friendly coastal protection structure called Hexareef. It is a hexagonal wave breaker rock with artificial coral reef vegetation planted on its surface. “Each side is also equipped with several holes to facilitate the circulation of ocean wave currents so as not to damage the structure,” he added.

Furthermore, the bespectacled man said that the rock has a diameter of 60 centimeters with a height of 80 centimeters. In its application, the wave breaker structure is arranged submerged under the surface of the sea. The position of the rocks is installed parallel to each other until it reaches a length of approximately 50 – 100 meters.

The launch process of Hexareef at Papua Paradise Eco-Resort as an effort to restore the coastline and the existence of coral reefs around the location.

Not only used as a wave breaker, Hexareef is also useful as one of the marine tourism objects. This is because the coral reefs on the surface of the rocks have their own charm to captivate the eyes of visitors. “The atmosphere at sunset and sunrise along with the crashing waves also add to the beauty of the beach,” explained the lecturer at the Coastal and Port Engineering Laboratory, Department of Ocean Engineering ITS .

In line with this, innovations that refer to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) point 14 regarding maintaining marine ecosystems have also been implemented in several locations. Haryo said that one of them is in Tlangoh Village, Bangkalan Regency, Madura and in Papua Paradise Eco-Resort, Raja Ampat Regency, Southwest Papua. In the two locations, the presence of Hexareef was able to increase income from marine tourism locations and was able to repair the previously eroded coastline.

Through the good response from the community, Haryo also hopes that Hexareef can be used by various parties, especially by the government. Given, the environmentally friendly innovation is able to prevent coastal abrasion as well as an effort to restore the marine ecosystem. “Thus, this effort is able to minimize abrasion and fatal damage as a result of this phenomenon,” said Haryo hopefully. (ITS PUBLIC RELATIONS)

Reporter: Nabila Hisanah Yusri
Translator : Devinka Mutianeira