Report of Research

Report on the Preliminary Research in Sarawak, Malaysia　[Motoko Fujita]

Posted on 2012/04/25 by nakane

Report on the Preliminary Research in Sarawak, Malaysia Motoko Fujita（CSEAS, Kyoto University）　Among the information I collected during this field trip, I discovered two facts about swiftlets that were particularly fascinating. One concerns the ecology of the bird and the other concerns human interaction with swiftlets that I witnessed during my stay. Two species of swiftlet produce edible birds’ nests, which is known as Chinese delicacy: the Edible-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus hereinafter referred as to A.fuciphagus) and the Black-nest Swiftlet （Aerodramus maximus, hereinafter referred as to A.maximus）In general, A.fuciphagus lives close to coastlines and dwells in bird farm houses*, in which people try to attract birds to make nests. A.maximus […]

Kemena-Jelalong river: Ethno-linguistic view of an ecosystem in transformation　[Nathan Badenoch]

Posted on 2012/03/14 by nakane

Kemena-Jelalong river: Ethno-linguistic view of an ecosystem in transformation Nathan Badenoch（CSEAS, Kyoto University）　The profound changes underway in the landscape mosaic of the Kemena-Jelalong watershed are representative of the fast-paced, resource-intensive development trajectory of Sarawak. The upper watershed areas (ulu) are being opened up to new forces of change, as logging roads are constructed to facilitate the movement of natural resources. Improved access means that industrial plantations (acacia, oilpalm) and new forms of market-oriented smallholder agricultural production (oilpalm, pepper) are securing a place in the landscape as well. The rapid pace of change has implications for both the natural and human diversity of these landscapes. Although transportation and communications have […]

Feedback on Preliminary Research in Sarawak, Malaysia [Yucho Sadamichi]

Posted on 2012/03/07 by nakane

Feedback on Preliminary Research in Sarawak, Malaysia Yucho Sadamichi (The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology) 　I have been working on environmental assessment, called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and in particular on the analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions resulting from the use of biofuels. LCA is based on a cradle-to-grave approach, covering land preparation, cultivation, transportation, biomass-to-energy conversion, distribution and consumption in the case of biofuels. 　In the past couple of years, I have visited factories and plantations in Southeast Asia to conduct LCA analyses for enterprises and governments, mainly focusing on how to reduce GHG emissions induced by their activities. This year I joined this […]

General flowering and fruiting in Kemena and Tatau River areas [Hiromitsu Samejima]

Posted on 2012/03/07 by nakane

General flowering and fruiting in Kemena and Tatau River areas Hiromitsu Samejima (CSEAS, Kyoto University) 　Most lowland and hill areas of Borneo are covered by Mixed Dipterocarp Forest (MDF), in which large Dipterocarpaceae trees (ex. Shorea, Dipterocarpus and Dryobalanops spp.) dominate the canopy layer. In these forests, trees don’t flower and fruit every year. Once every one to five years, various taxa of trees synchronously blossom and fructify. These phenomena are called “general flowering” and “general fruiting” (Sakai et al., 1999). During the period of general flowering, a swarm of giant honey bees (Apis dorsta) appears, followed by a pack of wild boars in the time of general fruiting. Both […]