Transforming Borneo: From land exploitation to sustainable development

Crawford School of Public Policy
Coal barge on the Mahakam River, East Kalimantan

Event details

Indonesia Study Group

Date & time

Wednesday 28 June 2023
12.00pm–1.30pm

Venue

Speaker

Lesley Potter & Chun Sheng Goh

Contacts

Alex Gotts

12-1:30pm AEST // 9-10:30am WIB

Join in-person:

McDonald Room, Menzies Library, 2 McDonald Place, ANU

Join online:

Follow this link: bit.ly/indonesia-study-group-2023

Or enter the webinar ID in the Zoom application

Webinar ID: 896 5473 2435

Passcode: 659571

About the seminar

Assoc. Prof. Lesley Potter (in-person) and Dr Chun Sheng Goh (joining via Zoom) will discuss their recently published book, Transforming Borneo: From Land Exploitation to Sustainable Development.

Borneo provides a classic example of the exploitation of land resources for profit in the name of ‘development’. Since the 1970s, Borneo has experienced massive timber extraction, deforestation and degradation. This was followed by the cultivation of oil palm as the major export cash crop, spreading rapidly since 2000. These developments have led to increased incomes for some but also inequality and social conflicts, and have been secured at the expense of the environment. Coal mining and the degradation of peatland and ensuing fire risk present further environmental, health and social challenges.

Amid increasing criticism, there has been a realisation that this development pathway cannot continue. Spanning from 2010 to the present, this book examines strategies to transform these economies, with two broad concepts being identified: the ‘bio-economy’ and the ‘eco-economy’. The first emphasizes economic development, ensuring productivity is increased while reducing resource consumption. The alternative strategy, ‘eco-economy’, is oriented towards conservation, where maintaining a harmonious relationship with nature is prioritized over economic productivity. The book also looks at the potential impacts of the ‘digital revolution’, and explores future challenges such as the viability of oil palm in a changing climate and the relocation of Indonesia’s capital to East Kalimantan.

Note: There will be a limited number of books for sale for $45, cash only. For anyone who can’t join the event, a recording will be available in the coming days on our Youtube channel

About the speakers

Associate Professor Lesley Potter has 40 years’ experience conducting geographical field-based research in Indonesia, especially Borneo. After completing her PhD on Guyana for McGill University (Montreal) Lesley moved to the University of Adelaide in 1981. Her earliest field sites in Borneo were on the Upper Riam Kiwa (South Kalimantan), from 1983. An initial interest in forestry and environmental change was followed by oil palm in the 1990s and a shift to research in West and Central Kalimantan. Following ‘retirement’ in 2003, Lesley moved to the Australian National University (Canberra), where consultancies from the World Bank and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) enabled her to expand her knowledge of palm oil internationally. Her large monograph for CIFOR (2015): Managing palm oil landscapes: A study of the modern palm oil industry in Southeast Asia, Latin America and West Africa summarizes some of those international studies. Lesley has published two books, the first ‘Borneo’ volume with Harold Brookfield, assisted by Yvonne Byron (1995) In place of the forest: Socio-economic and environmental transformations in Borneo and the Eastern Malay Peninsula (Tokyo, United Nations University Press) and the recent volume (2023) Transforming Borneo: From land exploitation to sustainable development, Chun Sheng Goh and Lesley Potter (Singapore, ISEAS). Lesley has 86 other publications, including shorter monographs, book chapters (many refereed), and 29 refereed journal articles.

Dr Chun Sheng Goh, Ph.D. (Utrecht), is an Associate at Harvard University Asia Center. Through his previous roles in various capacities at universities, the Malaysian government, and international organizations, he developed a strong affinity for the unique sustainability challenges and opportunities presented by Borneo. Additionally, Chun Sheng has authored reports for UN-FAO, IRENA, and WWF, covering various topics within the bio- and nature-based economy. His first monograph, Transforming Borneo: From land exploitation to sustainable development, co-authored with Lesley Potter, was published in March 2023 by ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.

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