[unpad.ac.id, 17/9/2018] Team of Nature Lovers Unit “Palawa” Unpad conducted an expedition entitled research wandering and cliff climbing in Tebing Baturaya, Teluk Kepayang Village, Tanah Bumbu Regency, South Kalimantan, 18 August to 2 September.
The expedition entitled “Making the Baturaya Rock Climbing Path and Research on the Effects of the Mining Industry on the Economic Changes of the Teluk Kepayang Village, Tanah Bumbu Regency, South Kalimantan” consisted of Samudra Muhammad Rahman (Anthropology), Tri Nur Ramdhani (Fisheries), Rizkia Mutiara (Physics), and companion Yandi Romadona (Agricultural Engineering) and Ronni Robinson Simbolon (English Literature).
Baturaya Cliff is a giant limestone cliff in the Kepayang Bay. This cliff does not yet have a climbing route because it is still rarely the location for long-term cliff activists in Indonesia.
The team managed to pioneer the climbing path as far as 120 meters from the bottom of the cliff. Although the height of the cliff is 410 meters based on GPS measurements, the team decided to stop at 120 meters for safety reasons.
This pioneering process lasts for three days. The trip to the summit was continued by climbing.
From the observations, it is estimated that Baturaya Cliff is classified as young karst. Its formation is easy to escape, its surface is fragile, and rarely found in translucent holes or caves indicating that this cliff has recently experienced karstification. However, this cliff is still safe to climb with a note of extra caution in choosing moorings and safety during climbing.
Kepayang Bay Region itself is one of the villages in Tanah Bumbu which more than half a century ago became coal mining land. Regarding the existence of the mine, it attracted the team to examine its relation to the economy of the Teluk Kepayang community.
The research was conducted to find out how the economic situation of the village community before and after becoming a mining industrial area. This encourages mining companies to formulate policies when making an area a mining area.
During the research, the team found that most of the mine land had now entered the reclamation stage. Some mining companies are still digging. A number of the company’s workforce are from Teluk Kepayang Village.
“The results of the study show that coal mining in this village actually helps the economy of rural communities in reducing unemployment. In addition, the mining company there also assists in funding the development of this village infrastructure. On the other hand, the holes in the former mining quarry become a form of natural damage and require time to recover, “said Rizkia in a release received by Unpad PR.
The team also hopes that the results of this research can be a recommendation for the Tanah Bumbu Regency Government to make policies that are paying a better attention to the community. *
Release: Palawa Unpad / am | Translated by dfa
