ELTI’s Indonesia permanent training site is a cooperative initiative of the ELTI, Balai Penelitian Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam (Balitek-KSDA, a branch of the Ministry of Forestry’s Forest Research & Development Agency), and Tropenbos International-Indonesia Programme (TBI, a Dutch nongovernmental organization). The training site is located around 1° S latitude and 157° E longitude in a lowland area of East Kalimantan, a province in the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. The region is characterized by undulating hills and swampy depressions, which were historically covered by mixed hill dipterocarp forest. A significant percentage of the region’s forest was lost with the advent of large-scale logging in the late 1960s, followed by conversion to industrial timber and oil palm plantations, small-scale agriculture, and most recently coal mining. Large-scale fires have also had a lasting impact.
The ELTI permanent training site consists of a network of smaller sites managed by partner organizations, including a 1800 ha forest restoration site owned by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (referred to as Samboja Lestari), a timber plantation and eco-tourism site managed by PT Inhutani I, Balitek-KSDA’s research forest, two protection forests managed by the city of Balikpapan, and PT Singlurus Pratama coal mine. ELTI has strong ties to these and other local organizations and can help facilitate research on a wide array of topics related to forest restoration and degraded land rehabilitation, payment for environmental services, community forestry, etc. ELTI has also begun collecting an extensive list of publications from the region, which can be made available on request. Please contact David Neidel for more information.
Click here for additional projects based in Sungai Wain Protection Forest with ELTI partner, Dr. Gaby Fredriksson.
Project 1
Summary: Examine the feasilbility of establishing PES schemes for Sungai Wain and Sungai Manggar Protection Forests
Methods: 1. Review the history of relations between the management body of the two protection forests, Pertamina (whose oil refinery uses much of the water from Sungai Wain), the regional water company (much of whose water comes from Sungai Manggar), and other major stakeholders. 2. Examine and quantify the distribution of benefits from the two protection forests. 3. Assess the political opportunities and challenges for developing PES schemse for the two protection forests
Location: Balikpapan
Special Skill Sets: Understanding of PES, Indonesian resource politics, Indonesian language skills required
Project 2
Summary: Social history and political-ecological analysis of forest degradation and community agroforestry in and adjacent to the Sungai Wain/Sungai Manggar Protection Forests and/or Tahura Bukit Soeharto
Methods: This project could take many forms and in part would be determined by what you could get research sponsorship for, but possible options include: 1. Analysis of the implementation of the Sungai Wain Community Forest (HKm), 2. Settlement and social history of the local communities involved in the Sungai Wain Hkm, 3. Market chain analysis of the various products including pepper, rubber, dragon fruit that are being cultivated within the community forest. 4. Many of the same analysis for local communities living and managing resources with Balitek's KHDTK.
Location: Balikpapan or Samboja
Special Skill Sets: Theoretical background in political ecology. Social science and historical methods. Indonesian language skills required.
Project 3
Summary: Analysis of the changing social relations of BOSF's Samboja Lestari Forest Restoration site to local communities.
Methods: 1. Literature review, 2. Semi-structure and unstructured interviews with past and present BOSF management staff, local community members, and local government officials, and 3) analysis of current threats to the site
Location: Samboja
Special Skill Sets: Social science research into conservation and development projects. Social science methods. Indonesian language skills required.
Project 4
Summary: Social and ecological analysis of forest restoration for Proboscis Monkeys (Nasalis larvatus)
Methods: 1. Census of monkey population, 2. Background research and/or analysis of the feeding ecology, habitat needs, and foraging behavior of proboscis monkeys. 3. Examine current land management practices in relations to monkey needs. Ideally it would be great if the intern could work on further developing a restoration strategy.
Location: Samboja
Special Skill Sets: Conservation biology, Indonesian language skills required
Project 5
Summary: The history and legal development of concession systems in Indonesia and their current status in relation to the devolution/decentralization of power and implications for land conservation
Methods: 1. Literature review on forest management and decentralization, 2. case study analysis possibly of PT ITCI or PT Inhutani I.
Location: Balikpapan, Jakarta, Samboja
Special Skill Sets: Idonesian language skills required
Project 6
Summary: Biodiversity recovery in a forest restoration site
Methods: 1. Census of birds, bats, amphibians, mammals, etc.
Location: Samboja
Special Skill Sets: Wildlife biology, census design
project 7
Summary: Analysis of either primary or secondary forest plots
Methods: 1. Comparing the structure, composition and development of primary forest with two one hectare plots – one in a valley and one on a spur ridge (soils, sub-surface hydrology and vegetation), OR 2. Analysis of 12 year old reforestation plots in terms of planted trees and advanced regeneration.
Location: Samboja
Special Skill Sets: Forestry
