Academic Profile

Dr Mari E Mulyani received 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 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. The third book is in the process of completion.

Mari has developed an elective module on ASEAN Environments for the Masters course at Oxford University's School of Geography and the Environment. She is a teaching associate within the School's MSc/MPhil in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management, and supervises Masters students on dissertations relating to environmental governance and institutions. Mari also lectures at the University of Indonesia's School of Environmental Science, where she developed a module on 'academic writing and publishing', and initiated an Ambassador Lecture Series on the subject of Climate Change and Environmental Issues.

Her research focuses on the interplay between environmental 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 environmental management, particularly with the political dynamic amongst policy actors, and the underlying political economy governing the environment and natural resources in Indonesia.

Work Experience and Social Responsibility

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 company with extensive international operations where she was an Executive Director 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 has also been active in Indonesia's spiritual enlightenment movement, leading to her involvement in the production of a television series and hosting 'The Enlightenment Forum with Richard Claproth PhD' in 2010.

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 to deliver a final speech on their behalf.

Teaching

  • MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management: Professional Research Practice
  • All MScs: ASEAN Environments

Selected Publications

Journals

  • 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. (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.