2020, Volume 8, Issue 3, Pages: 988-998
J. Environ. Treat. Tech.
ISSN: 2309-1185
Journal web link: http://www.jett.dormaj.com
Mitigation of Environmental Degradation in
Merapi Volcano Disaster-Prone Area: A Case
Study of Klaten District
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Widodo Brontowiyono* , Lupiyanto R. , J. Hamidin , Julianto E. A , Widyastuti A ,
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Harmawan F. and Supriyo
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Department of Environmental Engineering, Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII), Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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Center for Environmental Study, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta
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Karunia Sejahtera, Yogyakarta, INDONESIA
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Dept. of Agrotechnology, University of Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Yogyakarta Doctor Candidate, Faculty of Economy, UII
Received: 06/01/2020 Accepted: 13/04/2020 Published: 20/09/2020
Abstract
Eruptions of Mount Merapi have provided economic benefits, including increased soil fertility and abundant sand and stone. As time
goes by, mining has been spreading to yards, getting uncontrolled and disregarding rules as well as good management. As a result,
environmental degradation, particularly land criticality, is highly likely to occur. This study was conducted to identify the levels of land
criticality in the slope of Merapi. The output was recommendations for land rehabilitation to achieve sustainable development. The
results showed that the study area with highly critical land reached an extent of 696.43 Ha or 4.48%. Critical, medium, and potentially
critical lands covered an area of 133.02 Ha or 0.85%, 80.35 Ha or 0.52 %, and 527.17 Ha, respectively. Meanwhile, uncritical land had
the largest extent, reaching 14.123 Ha. Recommendations for critical lands include vegetation and civil engineering methods.
Keywords: Mitigation, Environmental degradation, Critical land, Merapi Volcano
Introduction1
distribution and extent of critical lands and to provide mitigation
and recommendation for land rehabilitation in the scope of
regional development according to the criticality map
1
Indonesia is an archipelago with 129 active volcanoes and
approximately 500 non-active volcanoes [1]. One of the most
active volcanoes in Indonesia is Merapi Volcano. Its latest
eruption in 2010 released around 100 million cubic meters of
volcanic materials [2]. Eruptions of Merapi pose disaster risks and
impacts while at the same time providing considerable economic
benefits. The positive impacts of Merapi post-eruption include
increasing soil fertility and an abundance of sand and stone
materials. The area around Merapi Volcano is a fertile region for
agriculture. A study by [3] showed that the carrying capacity of
agricultural land in disaster-prone area III of Merapi Volcano is
extremely high. Another business activity developing in the
region is sand and stone mining.
2 Material and methods
2.1 Data collection methods
Data was gathered using two methods, including: (1)
Secondary Data Collection: Secondary data was obtained from a
range of previous research, studies, and reports as well as from
the reports of related agencies and existing regional regulations.
Such method involved a literature study and institutional research;
(2) Primary Data Collection: Primary data was collected through
field observation and interview. The results consisted of
documents, interview transcripts, and location plotting from GPS.
With the course of time, sand and stone in the river become
less available, making miners expand their activity to house yards.
Mining activities become uncontrollable without regulations or
good management. Consequently, the area is prone to
environmental degradation in the form of critical land that makes
a negative impact on fertile agricultural land.
Based on the abovementioned empirical conditions, this study
is relevant to identify the criticality levels of Merapi slope regions.
As the research output, land rehabilitation is recommended to
achieve sustainable development. Identified critical level and
rehabilitation recommendation of land used Digital Soil Mapping
2.2 Data Analysis Methods
The analysis methods to determine the criticality levels,
distribution, and land area referred to the regulation from the
Directorate General of Watershed Management and Social
Forestry of the Ministry of Forestry No. P.4/V-SET/2013
concerning Technical Guidelines for Preparing Critical Land
Spatial Data. Classification of critical lands is based on the total
score of critical land parameters shown in Table 1. The following
criteria show criticality levels in agricultural land based on the
research area (Table 2). Analysis of recommendations for land
rehabilitation referred to the Government Regulation No. 76 Year
2008 concerning Forest Reclamation and Rehabilitation as well
as Regulation of Forestry Minister of the Republic of Indonesia
No. P.32/MENHUT-II/2009 concerning Guidelines for Preparing
(DSP) defined as “the creation and population of spatial soil
information systems by the use of field and laboratory
observational methods coupled with spatial and non-spatial soil
inference systems” [4]. This study aims to map and identify the
Corresponding author: Widodo Brontowiyono, Department of Environmental Engineering, Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII),
Yogyakarta, Indonesia. E-mail: widodo.bronto@uii.ac.id, lupy.algiri@gmail.com, pt.karuniakons@gmail.com.
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