On July 29, 2024, at the Graduate Hall of Muhammadiyah University of Berau (UMB), the Community Service Team from Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) held a meeting to present a peatland conservation program in Berau Regency. The event was attended by Vice Rectors, Deans, the Head of the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM), lecturers, and students from UMB.

Nia Kurniasih, Chair of the Expertise Group on Humanities (KKIK) at ITB, opened the event by explaining the importance of humanities in sustainability, stating ITB's commitment to integrating humanities into their master plan. She highlighted various opportunities for collaboration between ITB and UMB, including joint research, community service, conferences, journal article writing, and offering UMB lecturers the opportunity to pursue postgraduate studies at ITB. Nia hoped this meeting would mark the beginning of a closer partnership between ITB, UMB, and the East Kalimantan community. The theme for the KKIK ITB's Research and Community Service activities in 2024 is communicating sustainability to all stakeholders.

ITB academic Sonny Abfertiawan emphasized the importance of conserving peatlands by involving the community. According to the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry Decree No. SK.129/MENLHK/SETJEN/PKL.0/2/2017 regarding the Designation of National Peat Hydrological Units, Indonesia has 865 Peat Hydrological Units (KHG) covering a total area of 24,667,804 hectares. Berau Regency has several KHGs, including KHG Tanjung Buaya and KHG Sei Batu Putih. Sonny stressed the importance of preserving peatlands, as they store up to 30 percent of the world's carbon and prevent it from being released into the atmosphere. Peatlands also serve as a backbone for the local economy and prevent climate change and natural disasters.

Harry Nuriman, Head of the ITB Community Service Team, introduced a paperless technology platform for monitoring and evaluating peatlands. This platform will serve as a data center for the Desa Mandiri Peduli Gambut activities and can be accessed by all stakeholders via the link https://dmpg.org. The platform also monitors peat-based economic empowerment activities. Anuraga Bagaskara, a student of Water Resources Engineering and Management at ITB, provided a brief tutorial on using the platform.

Abdul Hakim, Head of UMB's LPPM, welcomed this initiative and expressed UMB's readiness to collaborate on research, community service, and other academic activities. Support was also expressed by Dr. Mahfudz Huda, Dean of UMB's Faculty of Engineering and Conservation, who expressed interest in participating in the international conference on Digital Humanities to be organized by KKIK ITB in Semarang on October 29, 2024.

As one of the oldest universities in Indonesia, ITB demonstrates its commitment to improving human resources and environmental preservation through technology utilization. This collaboration is expected to be a crucial step in peatland conservation and community development in East Kalimantan.

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