The Keynote Speakers: Prof. Alvaro Semedo Ph.D. (two from left), Ir Liliane Geerling RTD (middle), and Prof Dano Roelvink (right) at 2019 ISOCEEN.

ITS Campus, ITS News — Entering its seventh year, the International Seminar on Ocean and Coastal Engineering, Environmental and Natural Disaster Management (ISOCEEN) is back to highlight the many coastal issues. In cooperation with several Dutch universities, this activity aims to convey the importance of protection and planning of the coastal areas.

Prof. Alvaro Semedo Ph.D. as the seminar speaker said that several important cities in the world located in the coastal area were threatened to experience land subsidence. One of those cities in Jakarta. “In the latest research, there will be more coastal areas that are threatened to be erased from the map by 2050,” he added. 

In his study, he mentioned that rainfall and temperature in some areas rise dramatically. That happens because the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased from year to year. “Even the earth’s temperature has increased significantly,” he said.

Besides, land subsidence is caused by rising sea levels. The climate and temperature of the earth are the biggest causes of these problems. Moreover, the current global temperature reached the highest rate compared to the previous year. “Rising sea levels are caused by high global temperature which causes seawater to expand,” explained by the professor of the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education.

Prof. Alvaro Semedo Ph.D. when presenting the material

Meanwhile, Prof Dano Roelvink said that the coastal modeling needs to be made in advance to overcome various coastal problems. The modeling was made by considering the effects of the wave direction, height, and wind factors. “Although the existing data may change in the future, this modeling can provide a realistic picture,” he said.

The professor of the HZ of Applied Sciences University continued, land subsidence and damage to other coastal areas can be solved by creating mangrove areas. According to him, the mangrove brigade can reduce waves from the high seas, thereby reducing the erosion on the coast. “Even the erosion caused by wind can be prevented by planting this mangrove,” he added.

In this seminar, 42 papers were present to discuss various maritime topics, such as Hydrodynamics and Morphodynamics, Ocean Engineering and Offshore Technology, Port and Coastal Engineering, Natural Disaster Management, Sea Transportation and Ship Technology, Ocean Renewable Energy and Development, Marine Science and Technology, and Coastal, Delta, River and Estuary Management and Its Environmental. Hopefully, these papers can be a real contribution as a solution to the existing problems. (dya/hen/gayatri)