Joseph Hedges

Joseph Hedges is a PhD Student at the University of Kent, researching the influence of land use and hunting on biodiversity and forest livelihoods in Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Joseph completed his Master of Science in Zoology at the University of Exeter, researching the ecological outcomes of community-based conservancies in Northern Kenya. Before starting his PhD, Joseph worked for over two years with the Born Free Foundation, providing support to conservation programmes throughout Africa and Asia.  

Investigating the influence of land uses and hunting on forest livelihoods and biodiversity in Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Understanding the interplay between people’s uses of forests and their interactions with wildlife remains a key research priority in rapidly changing tropical landscapes. Yet tackling this problem is complicated by the different ways that people use land, and the multifaceted relationships between governance and equity amongst various stakeholders involved.

This PhD project will investigate this problem in the Betung Kerihun Danau Sentarum Kapuas Hulu Biosphere Reserve in Kalimantan, Indonesia. This extensive >940,000 ha multi-use landscape comprises globally important forest biodiversity, and has significant ecological value to people. Yet, the region experiences agricultural encroachment and extensive hunting pressure, exacerbated by the expansion of a road connecting to the Malaysian border.

Here, NGO partner Sangga Bumi Lestari is promoting sustainable forest management and landscape connectivity in the buffer zones between Betung Kerihun and Danau Sentarum national parks. This intermediary landscape is defined by several competing and sometimes contested land-uses, including forestry and oil palm agriculture, but also two alternative land-based conservation measures. While extensive degraded forests have been designated ecosystem restoration licenses, local communities are embracing social forestry as means to assert their land rights and enhance forest livelihoods.

This interdisciplinary project will explore topics including:

This project is funded through the Leverhulme ‘Space for Nature’ Doctoral Scholarship.  

• Investigating the biodiversity value of various land-uses and conservation measures through camera trap surveys and spatial analyses.
• Studying the dynamics of people’s uses of forests and wildlife to understand how these behaviours are influenced by a complex interplay between hunting, trade and human-wildlife conflict.
• Evaluating the impact of programmes implemented in the landscape aimed at enhancing sustainable management of wild meat, conserving biodiversity whilst ensuring food security for rural communities.

Supervised by Dr Matthew Struebig, Dr Daniel Ingram and Dr Mahesh Poudyal.