Prof. Ir. Moh Sholichin M.T., Ph.D., IPU., ASEAN Eng., APEC Eng was inaugurated as a Professor, Tuesday (23/04/2025), at the Samantha Krida building, Universitas Brawijaya (UB). He is the 33rd active Professor in the Faculty of Engineering, the 245th active Professor in UB, and the 423rd Professor of all Professors produced by UB.

Rivers play a vital role in life, both as a source of water for domestic, industrial, and agricultural needs, as well as a natural ecosystem that supports biodiversity. However, river quality is greatly influenced by human activities, both in the industrial and domestic sectors.

Prof. Ir. Moh Sholichin M.T., Ph.D., IPU., ASEAN Eng., APEC Eng offers the SMART-UB (Sustainable Mitigation Approach for River Transformation, Utilization, and Balance) concept. This concept was designed to deal with developments in river and environmental management, especially the increasing burden of pollution and the decline in water quality in various regions. So far, river management has not emphasized the importance of comprehensive monitoring of water quality status and the factors that influence it. He, who is also known as an expert in water resources, also added that in many places we see anything being dumped in rivers, from agricultural waste, livestock waste, household waste in the form of plastic bags and bottles, kitchen waste, wood, liquid waste and toilet waste. There are even buckets, chairs or used mattresses that are washed away in the river. Not to mention industrial waste in the form of very dangerous chemicals. It is as if rivers are like garbage trucks that are stumbling because of the heavy burden of the mountain.

In fact, the role of rivers is very vital in life: as a source of water for household needs, industry, transportation, agriculture, as an ecosystem that supports biodiversity, and others.

SMART-UB emphasizes 4 things: first, mitigation strategies to reduce the negative impacts of increasing river pollution loads; second, transformation of river conditions based on water quality assessments; third, wise use of water; fourth, balance between utilization and ecological function of rivers.

The goal is to minimize the impact of pollution, monitor and assess changes in river conditions and ensure a balance between water utilization and the ecological function of the river in order to maintain the sustainability of water resources. The SMART-UB concept is certainly based on many studies and research in various regions in Indonesia. Including river studies conducted abroad as a comparison and reference. Among them are to Delft-Netherlands, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Italy, Australia, Thailand, and Malaysia.

The advantages of SMART-UB offer a more adaptive approach to climate change and land use and have been tested in case studies on the Brantas River, which show effectiveness in reducing pollution levels and increasing the efficiency of water resource management. [drn/mit]