With support from the AIFIS-Luce Fellowship, Dr. Wendy Erb traveled to Indonesia from June through August 2019 to strengthen and further develop an international collaboration with partners at the University of Exeter in the U.K. and the Borneo Nature Foundation (BNF) and Universitas Muhammadiyah Palangkaraya (UMP) in Indonesia. During the funding period, Dr. Erb and her collaborative team co-led a training event to bring together interdisciplinary perspectives and diverse stakeholders to promote conservation research in Central Kalimantan. During the field season, Dr. Erb found numerous opportunities to train and develop capacity in the local community. Dr. Erb and her research collaborators also hosted an international research symposium to promote the findings of her collaborative conservation research program in the Rungan landscape.

The data generated from this research project will not only lead to key scientific discoveries but also contribute to conservation, including an assessment of the presence and abundance of rare, and possibly new, species of wildlife as well as a greater understanding of the factors influencing endangered Bornean ape population sizes and habitat use. Dr. Erb hopes to contribute to the development of passive acoustic monitoring as a cost-effective tool to assess and monitor biodiversity across Borneo’s threatened landscapes.

AIFIS Fellow Wendy Erb with students from the MungkuBaru High School