This week I arrived in Bogor, Indonesia. For the next three months, I will completing my MSc thesis research as part of an internship with the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). CIFOR headquarters are located on the outskirts of the West Javan City of Bogor. The CIFOR campus is surrounded by tropical rainforest and consists of several offices, guesthouses, and amenities for CIFOR staff — a great combination for comfort and productivity.
Founded in 1993, CIFOR is an international, non-profit, CGIAR research centre. CIFOR conducts interdisciplinary research on challenges concerning forest and landscape management around the world, aiming to improve human well-being, protect the environment, and increase equity. CIFOR works with numerous local and international partners, and leads the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees, and Agroforestry (FTA) in partnership with Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD), Bioversity International, the International Organization for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), Tropenbos International, Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, CATIE), and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). With offices in Bogor, Nairobi, Yaounde, and Lima, CIFOR conducts research in over 50 countries (see below).
My internship and thesis topic finds its home in CIFOR’s Sustainable Landscapes and Food Systems research unit, led by Terry Sunderland. My exact research topic remains undetermined, but it is looking increasingly likely that I will be conducting a literature review on the contribution of different agroforestry systems to food security and tropical forest biodiversity conservation in West Java, Indonesia. Watch this space!