School of Geography and the Environment

Dr Mari E Mulyani received her DPhil from the University of Oxford's School of Geography and the Environment in 2014 with a thesis on climate change mitigation policy focusing on REDD+ institutions. Prior to Oxford, Mari graduated cum laude from Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia in 1995 in International Relations, and in 2009 from the University of Indonesia with a Masters Degree in the Environmental Sciences, also cum laude. Mari co-authored two books (published in the Indonesian language) on Climate Change Documents with Professor Sutamihardja, former Vice Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 1997-2007.

Mari developed an elective module on ASEAN Environments for the Masters courses at Oxford University's School of Geography and the Environment, where she also teaches Philosophy of Science and Employing Social Theories in Research Practice as part of the Research Methods within the MSc/MPhil in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management. Mari also teaches a class on Theories of Governance and supervises Masters students on dissertations relating to environmental governance and institutions, including topics on community-based forest management and fishery management, marine resource management and protected areas, forest fires and haze pollution, charcoal governance, illegal wildlife trade, human wildlife conflicts, and national food security.

Mari also lectures Masters and PhD students at the University of Indonesia's School of Environmental Science where she developed a module on 'Environmental Scientific writing and publishing', and initiated the Ambassador Lecture Series on the subject of Climate Change and Environmental Issues.

In 2018 Mari was instrumental in securing a partnership between Oxford Project South East Asia and the University of Indonesia's School of Environmental Science to conduct a three-day Symposium on South East Asian studies, attracting the participation of over four hundred World academics and policy-makers. The Indonesian Vice President, Senior State Ministers, foreign Ambassadors, and the Regional Governor were amongst those participating.

During her years at Gadjah Mada University Mari worked as a reporter and anchor with a local radio station, this experience subsequently proving invaluable when she was retained by BBC World to assist their senior journalists covering the Aceh Tsunami disaster in 2004. After graduating in 1995 she held executive responsibility with two companies in Indonesia, the first a leading conglomerate from the private sector, and the second a German engineering company with extensive international operations where she was Executive Director in Indonesia for ten years.

Mari has been actively involved in promoting the principles of social responsibility, whether in the value that can benefit corporations or within the community at large, and her many activities include establishing a school and scholarship programme for children disenfranchised from the Government of Indonesia's school system. Since 2004 she was also active in Indonesia's spiritual enlightenment movement, leading to her involvement in the production of a television talk series and hosting The Enlightenment Forum with Richard Claproth PhD' in 2010. Mari is Vice Chair of the Supervisory Board of the University of Oxford Society of Indonesia whose mission is to serve the people of Indonesia as a centre for the accumulation and sharing of the knowledge and expertise of its members.

Awards

In 1991 Mari was one of sixteen students selected by the Government of Indonesia to represent the country in a scholarship youth exchange programme funded by the Australian Government.

In 1994 she was one of forty students selected by the Government to represent Indonesia in Japan under the Leadership for the Twenty First Century programme. In this latter programme Mari was elected as the National Leader for Indonesia, subsequently becoming elected to represent the entire South East Asia region and deliver a final speech on their behalf.

Mari's research focuses on the interplay between environmental policies and institutions developed at the international and regional levels and those at the national and sub-national levels, including informal institutions deeply embedded within local communities and indigenous people.

She has a long history of engagement with issues related to resource management and transboundary environmental and conservation, particularly with the political dynamic amongst policy actors and the underlying political economy governing the environment and natural resources. Moreover, community engagement with conservation and development projects, including their involvement in knowledge co-production for the purpose of environmental policy-making as well as community vulnerability, resilience, social learning, and adaptive capacity, are at the forefront of her current research projects. She also engaged with research determining the most effective technology to measure rice production in Indonesia with the potential to address the country's challenging problem in maintaining national food security. Her most recent research includes urban transit-oriented development and a sustainable transport system in the Jakarta metropolitan area.

Her current research projects include the following:

1. Making Indonesia's Peatlands: Co-Production of Science and Politics in Peatland Governance

Mari co-leads this research with Oxford graduate Lauren Xie

Home to 47% of the world's tropical peatlands (Warren et al., 2017), Indonesia faces increasing pressure to manage its 20 million hectare of peatlands which catch fire every year. Given the serious environmental, health, and economic implications associated with peat fires, and the recent establishment of the National Peatland Restoration Agency, this research seeks to enhance understanding of how peatland has emerged as an object of governance. It combines the concepts of co-production (Jasanoff, 2004) and technological zones (Barry, 2006) in order to examine how knowledge production and politics have been intimately intertwined. Through a review of scientific literature on peatlands and key informant interviews, this study examines the uncertainties around peatland definitions and analyses the science and broader knowledge missing in the Agency's roadmap. The failure to date of the existing sciences to inform peatland governance suggests an opportunity for this research to improve knowledge production and peatland governance generally.

2. Transit Oriented Development: Policy and Implementation in Jakarta Metropolitan Area, Indonesia

Mari co-leads this research with Dr Sari Hayati Hasibuan, a lecturer at University of Indonesia; this project is funded by the University's research grant

Transit-oriented development (TOD), combining the urban planning of land-use and transport systems, occupies centre stage of the debate within sustainable urban development. This research examines the changes in commuters' travel behaviour, land use, and spatial distribution in the Jakarta metropolitan area since the inclusion of the TOD concept in 2012 within the Jakarta 2030 Regional Spatial Plan. It aims to achieve the following objectives. Firstly, to determine the progress and barriers to the TOD implementation by conducting a review of the relevant TOD policy documents. Secondly, to determine changes in commuters' mobility and land-use spatial distribution through the use of two data sets, one from 2013 and another from 2020, thereby determining the extent to which TOD-related developments influenced these changes. Thirdly, to establish appropriate policy recommendations on how Jakarta and National Governments should pursue TOD or alternative policies to achieve sustainable urban development.

3. Energy consumption and CO₂ emissions reduction: a study in Megacity Jakarta, Indonesia using a system dynamics model

Mari co-leads this research with Dr Ahyahudin Sodri, a lecturer at University of Indonesia; this project is funded by the University's research grant

Urbanisation exerts pressure to achieve energy conservation and emissions reduction, especially in urban passenger transport. This research examines sustainable urban transport systems by establishing a system dynamics model for 45 years (1995-2030) to simulate the effects of urban transport policies and explore their potential for reducing vehicle fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions in Jakarta, Indonesia's largest metropolis. The research proposes three policy interventions: vehicle age restrictions, rapid mass transit, and busway electrification services. Results indicate that the development of an integrated mass rapid transit is the most effective method to reduce the growth of private passenger vehicles, fuel consumption, and CO₂ emissions. Our study informs policy makers in the design of appropriate urban transport strategies and the reduction of energy consumption and CO₂ emissions at the city level, with potential replication for other megacities of developing countries.

• MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management: Research Methods

  As part of the module Mari teaches classes on Philosophy of Science and Employing Social Theories in Research Practice.

• • MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management: Conservation Governance

  As part of the module, Mari teaches classes on 'the Modes of Governance'.

• All MScs: ASEAN Environments elective

  This Module explores the political dynamics amongst policy actors and the underlying political economy that governs the South East Asian region's environment and natural resources of the ten countries in the South East Asian region. It questions: the future for the environment in a region whose countries strive to become 'developed' yet are undergoing rapid structural, political, and economic change. It also examines the relationship between the path-dependence of the countries' political economy and environmental decline, and its impact on the well-being of local people.

Journals

• Hasibuan, H. S. and Mulyani, M. (2022) Transit-Oriented Development: Towards Achieving Sustainable Transport and Urban Development in Jakarta Metropolitan, Indonesia. Sustainability, 14(9). 5244.
• Putiamini, S., Mulyani, M., Petala, M.P., Soesilo, T.E.B. and Karsidia, A. (2022) Social vulnerability of coastal fish farming community to tidal (Rob) flooding: a case study from Indramayu, Indonesia. Journal of Coastal Conservation, 26(2). 115.
• Gandharum, L., Mulyani, M.E., Hartono, D.M., Karsidi, A. and Ahmad, M. (2021) Remote sensing versus the area sampling frame method in paddy rice acreage estimation in Indramayu regency, West Java province, Indonesia. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 42(5): 1738-1767.
• Anand, M. and Mulyani, M. (2020) Advancing 'Environmental Subjectivity' in the realm of neoliberal forest governance: Conservation subject creation in the Lokkere Reserve Forest, India. Geoforum, 110: 106-115.
• Mulyani, M. and Jepson, P. (2016) "Does the 'One Map Initiative' Represent a New Path for Forest Mapping in Indonesia? Assessing the Contribution of the REDD+ Initiative in Effecting Forest Governance Reform." Forests 8.1 (2016): 14.
• Mulyani, M. and Jepson, P. (2015) Social learning through a REDD+ 'village agreement': insights from the Kalimantan Forests Climate Partnership (KFCP) in Indonesia. Asia Pacific View Point, 56(1): 79-95.
• Ituarte-Lima, C., McDermott, C.L. and Mulyani, M. (2014) Assessing equity in national legal frameworks for REDD+: The case of Indonesia. Environmental Science and Policy.
• Mulyani, M. and Jepson, P. (2013) REDD+ and forest governance in Indonesia: a multistakeholder study of perceived challenges and opportunities. Journal of Environment and Development, 22(3): 261-283.
• McDermott, C.L., van Asselt, H., Streck, C., Assembe, S., Duchelle, A., Haug, C., Humphreys, D., Mulyani, M., Silori, C., Suzuki, R., Zelli, F., Frick, S., Lentini, M., Luintel, H. and Salimon, C. (2012) Governance for REDD+, forest management and biodiversity: existing approaches and future options. Chapter 5 in, Parrotta, J., Christoph, C. and Mansourie, S. (eds.) Understanding Relationships Between Biodiversity, Carbon, Forests and People. IUFRO, Vienna. Commissioned by Global Forest Expert Panel, The Collaborative Partnership on Forests.
• Sutamihardja and Mulyani (2011) Climate Change: Dokumen Penting Perubahan Iklim: IPCC, UNFCCC, dan Protokol Kyoto. Climate Change: Important Documents on Climate Change (Book 2). Yayasan Pasir Luhur, Bogor, Indonesia.
• Sutamihardja and Mulyani (2009) Climate Change: Dokumen-Dokumen Penting Perubahan Iklim. Climate Change: Important Documents on Climate Change (Book 1). Yayasan Pasir Luhur, Bogor, Indonesia.

Popular Articles

• Mulyani, M. (2010) Flashing blue lights are a symptom of Indonesia's arrested development. Jakarta Globe, July 2010. Mulyani, M. (2009) Flashing blue lights and privilege in the republic. Maximillian Magazine, Jakarta, Indonesia. (Addresses the abuse of privilege in an emerging democracy).
• Mulyani, M. (2007) The Garuda Indonesia. Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Indonesia. (Addresses social responsibility and abuse of power in the Republic).
• Mulyani, M. (2006) The New Colonialist. Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Indonesia. (Addresses social responsibility and class in the post-colonial era).
• Mulyani, M. (2004) Hue and cry. Cover Magazine, Australia and Hong Kong. (Addresses social responsibility and the consumer in a supply-led industry).
• Mulyani, M. (2004) Retrospective reflections and forward thinking. Cover Magazine, Australia and Hong Kong. (Addresses social responsibility and the consumer in a supply-led industry).

Speaking Engagements and Conference Papers

• Mulyani, M. (2018) Accessing forest governance through a Patron-Client Structure. The 6th South East Asia Symposium, University of Indonesia, March 2018.
• Mulyani, M. (2017) Forest Fires and Trans-boundary Haze Pollution. Speaker at a roundtable of 'Justice, Welfare and the Environment' alongside Dr John McCarthy, Dr Constance McDermott, Dr Gillian Petrokofsky, and June Rubis. The 10th EuroSeas, Oxford University, 16-18 August 2017 (addresses the challenge faced by Indonesia and ASEAN to solve the underlying issues of forest fires and trans-boundary haze pollution).
• Mulyani, M. (2016) Indonesia's Religion-based by-laws: how do they affect women's freedom and their socio-cultural rights? Speaker and panel leader at the Anglo-Indonesian Society Forum, Indonesian Embassy London, 25 May 2016 (addresses the issue of Local Government's religion-influenced by-laws (Peraturan Daerah), particularly those concerning 'morality' and 'clothing').
• Mulyani, M. (2016) Energy Development in Southeast Asia. Speaker at a roundtable alongside, amongst others, Sir Tim Lankester, Private Secretary to two successive Prime Ministers, James Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher and Permanent Secretary at the Overseas Development Administration (now DFID) from 1989 to 1994. The 5th South East Asia Symposium, Oxford University, Thursday 14 April (addresses Indonesia's energy challenges and development).
• Mulyani, M. (2015) REDD+ 'One Map Initiative'; a new institutional path for Indonesia's forests and land management? South East Asia Symposium. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Mulyani, M. (2013) Institutional landscape: how the REDD+ mechanism impacts indigenous institutions through participatory land-mapping and village agreements. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2013. Royal Geographical Society. London, UK.
• Mulyani, M. (2013) The interplay between REDD+ initiatives with village institutions: A case study in seven villages within the area of Kalimantan Forest Carbon Partnership (KFCP)'s demonstration activity in central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Euro South East Asia Study 2013. Lisbon, Portugal.
• Mulyani, M. (2013) Policy Networks and Governance Reform in Indonesia: a Study of the Policy-making Process for the National REDD+ Strategy. South East Asian Symposium 2013. Oxford, UK.
• Mulyani, M. (2013) Policy Networks: a Study of the Policy-making Process for the National REDD+ Strategy. South East Asia Seminar 2013. Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford, UK.
• Mulyani, M. (2013) The power of Transnational Networks in promoting good governance in REDD+ policy making in Indonesia: a case study of the development of Indonesia's National Strategy for REDD+. The 2013 Association of American Geographer (AAG) Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, California, USA.
• Sutamihardja and Mulyani. M. (2010) Biodiversity and the Threat of Climate Change. International meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. Bali, Indonesia.