Political Ecology · Asia-Pacific
Landscapes, Livelihoods, and Environmental Governance
I am an environmental social scientist studying the ways land, forests, and water are governed, contested, and transformed.
My work draws on long-term fieldwork in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, and is increasingly rooted in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. I work broadly on issues related to rural and agrarian change, deforestation, conservation, urbanization, and the commons.
South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Research
Research themes across
land, water, and the commons
Agrarian & Land Transformations
I study how commodity booms, enclosure, and deforestation reshape tropical forest landscapes, and how rural people organize to resist and reshape them. Much of this work follows oil palm and rubber expansion in Indonesia and the long history of land struggles and agrarian reform.
The Commons & Collective Action
I am interested in how communities govern shared resources, from forests to watersheds to fisheries, and how durable institutions for the commons get built. I serve as Conference Co-Chair for the 2027 IASC Biennial in Sulawesi.
Urban Vulnerability & Hydrosocial Change
From Jakarta to Nusantara, I follow how urbanization and flooding are changing livelihoods and politics in Indonesia's deltas and in its coastal and riverine communities.
Climate Policy & Community Resilience
I work with communities on climate adaptation across the Asia-Pacific, using participatory methods and engaged scholarship so that initiatives to build resilience begin from the ground up.
From the Field
Long-term field research in South Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, and Jakarta — alongside community members, students, and collaborators across the region.
