Dr Mari Mulyani

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

In 2015 Mari developed an elective module on ASEAN Environmental Governance & Conservation for the Masters courses at Oxford's School of Geography and the Environment, where she also teaches the Philosophy of Science, Employing Social Theories in Research Practice, and the Theories of Governance within the MSc in Biodiversity Conservation and Nature Recovery.

At Universitas Indonesia's Graduate School of Sustainable Development Mari lectures Masters and Doctorate students on Scientific Writing and Publishing. In 2018 she secured a partnership between Oxford Project Southeast Asia and Universitas Indonesia for a three-day Symposium on Southeast Asian studies, attracting over four hundred academics and policy-makers worldwide, including the Indonesian Vice President, State Ministers, Foreign Ambassadors, and the Regional Governor. Mari is also active in delivering public lectures on environmental sustainability and governance, with a particular focus on Southeast Asia.

Mari’s science and media communication skills were developed since high school and through her undergraduate years when she worked as news reporter and anchor with local radio stations. In 2004 she was retained by BBC World to assist their journalists covering the Aceh Tsunami disaster. She is also engaged in the Philosophy of Enlightenment movement, which led to her role as co-host of the television series The Enlightenment Forum, alongside Richard Claproth, PhD.

Prior to her academic life she held executive responsibilities, firstly with Indonesia’s leading conglomerate in consumer goods, and secondly a German engineering company with extensive international operations where she was Executive Director for ten years. Active in promoting Environmental Social and Governance principles, she established a scholarship programme for children from low-income disadvantaged families in Jakarta, and in September 2023 collaborated with the London School of Public Relations in Indonesia to provide scholarships on Sustainable Development Goals through an academic competition. Mari was Vice Chair of the Supervisory Board of the University of Oxford Society of Indonesia (2019-2024), was a trustee of Oxford Project Southeast Asia, and an active mentor within the OX-WEST (Oxford Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology) Mentoring Programme.

Within the MSc in Biodiversity Conservation and Nature Recovery course Mari teaches the Philosophy of Science, Employing Social Theories in Research Practice, and the Theories of Governance (within the Conservation Governance module). The latter discusses the role of governance networks comprising State and non-State actors, and markets to achieve sustainable development and conservation. Her elective module on ASEAN Environmental Governance & Conservation explores the political dynamics amongst policy actors and the underlying political economy that governs the Southeast Asian region's natural resources, and how effective transboundary conservation and pollution control can be achieved.

She supervises Masters and DPhil students on topics including community-based and sustainable resource management across diverse ecosystems including terrestrial, peatland and mangrove forests, terrestrial and marine protected areas, as well as the illegal wildlife trade, human-wildlife conflict, REDD+ and blue carbon, urban and rural agriculture, and sustainable development and conservation.

Mari's latest research on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in Southeast Asian waters, the South China Sea, and the Indian Ocean has been published in Geopolitics as part of the special issue ‘Who Governs the Indian Ocean?’. She is currently writing a book on ASEAN environmental governance and institutions, documenting relevant theories and empirical evidence developed through her elective module over the past ten years.

Mari's research topics broadly span those studied by her supervisees. Her research interests are anchored on how social theories can be employed to discern case studies for sustainable resource and conservation. She deploys various theories including policy and governance networks, path dependent political economy, patron-client, equity and justice, development theories, sustainability, co-production knowledge, social-ecological system, vulnerability, resilience, social learning, good governance, and adaptive capacity, etc. Recently she engaged with research relating to national food security, transit-oriented development, sustainable land-use governance, blue ecosystems and social forestry policies in Indonesia.

Journals

• Tias, P., McDermott, C.L. and Mulyani, M. (In-Press) Navigating the nexus between customary norms and state laws in shaping rural forest governance: a case study in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Forest Policy and Economics.
• Mulyani, M. (2025) Securitisation, Sovereignty, and Regional Cooperation: ASEAN Insights for IORA on Addressing IUU Fishing as a Transnational Environmental Crime. Geopolitics, 1-27.
• Hasibuan, H.S., Mulyani, M.E., Falensky, M.A., Aginda, M. and Tambunan, R.P. (2025) Capital city status and policy influence on land dynamics: a case study of Sofifi, North Maluku Archipelago, Indonesia. City and Environment Interactions, 28: 100253.
• Hasibuan, H.S., Tambunan, R.P., Mulyani, M., Elizandri, B.N. and Asrofani, F.W. (2025) Mixed-use Design Reform in the Jakarta Metropolitan Transit-Oriented Development Area. Future Cities and Environment, 11.
• Montana, J., Welden, E.A., ... Mulyani, M. and Picot, L. (2025) Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research. iScience, 28(6), 112736.
• 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): 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, M. (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, M. (2009) Climate Change: Dokumen-Dokumen Penting Perubahan Iklim. Climate Change: Important Documents on Climate Change (Book 1). Yayasan Pasir Luhur, Bogor, Indonesia.

Speaking Engagements: public lectures, keynote address and conferences

• The Oxford Futures Forum on East Asia on 24-25 September 2025. Invited participant. Oxford-Hyundai Motor Group Foresight Centre, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
• Who Governs the Indian Ocean? Mapping alternative political practices and oceanic flows in the Indian Ocean Region. Speaker. Oxford School of Global and Area Studies, University of Oxford, 8 May 2024.
• The JESSD International Symposium of Earth, Energy, Environmental Science, and Sustainable Development, Universitas Indonesia:
  • Environmental Conservation: Integrating Science, Policy, and Indigenous Knowledge for Sustainable Development. Keynote speaker (7 November 2025).
  • Transnational Environmental Crimes in Southeast Asia. Keynote speaker (26 August 2023).
  • Environmental Subjectivity and Conservation. Keynote speaker (27 August 2022).
  • Modes of governance for climate change mitigation efforts. Keynote speaker (26 September 2021).o    Environmental Governance in Developing Countries: employing social theories in research practice. Keynote speaker (28 September 2020).
• MMAT Centre for Southeast Asian Social Studies, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia:
  • Participation and Social Learning: How do local communities adapt to environmental change and achieve social transformation? Public lecture (23 July 2024).
  • Environmental Issues in Southeast Asia (20 July 2023).
  • Environmental and Climate Change Issues in Southeast Asia (27 October 2021).
• Blue Carbon Policy for Indonesia: Lessons learned from REDD+. Panel Speaker, International workshop on blue carbon economy and policy, IPB University, Indonesia, 26 October 2023.
• Environmental Sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals: challenges and opportunities. Public Lecture and Workshop, London School of Public Relations, Jakarta 22-23 June 2023.
• ASEAN’s principle of non-interference in solving transboundary environmental issues. Panel speaker, Round Table, Cambridge University’s centre for Geopolitics, 26 May 2023.
• The South East Asian Studies Symposium:
  • Accessing forest governance through a Patron-Client Structure (Universitas Indonesia, March 2018).
  • Energy Development in Southeast Asia (Oxford University, April 2016).
  • REDD+ 'One Map Initiative'; a new institutional path for Indonesia's forests and land management? (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2015)
  • Policy Networks and Governance Reform in Indonesia: a Study of the Policy-making Process for the National REDD+ Strategy (Oxford, UK, 2013).
• The Euro Seas (Euro South East Asia Study) Conference:
  • Forest Fires and Trans-boundary Haze Pollution. Roundtable of Justice, Welfare and the Environment (Oxford University, August 2017).
  • 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 (Lisbon, Portugal, 2013).
• Indonesia's Religion-based by-laws: how do they affect women's freedom and their socio-cultural rights? The Anglo-Indonesian Society Forum, Indonesian Embassy London, 25 May 2016.
• Institutional landscape: how the REDD+ mechanism impacts indigenous institutions through participatory land-mapping and village agreements. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference. Royal Geographical Society. London, UK, 2013.
• Policy Networks: a Study of the Policy-making Process for the National REDD+ Strategy. South East Asia Seminar, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford, UK, 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 Association of American Geographer (AAG) Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, California, USA, 2013.
• Biodiversity and the Threat of Climate Change. International meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. Bali, Indonesia, 2010.

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).