Ethnoscape of Riverine Society in Bintulu Division [Yumi Kato, et al.]

Ethnoscape of Riverine Society in Bintulu Division Yumi Kato(The Hakubi Project /Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University) Hiromitsu Samejima (Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University) Ryoji Soda(Graduate School of Literature and Human Sciences, Osaka City University) Motomitsu Uchibori (Faculty of Liberal Arts, The Open University of Japan) Katsumi Okuno(College of Liberal Arts, J.F.Oberlin University) Noboru Ishikawa (Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University) Introduction  The study site of this project is the riverine areas of the Kemena and Tatau Rivers in the Bintulu Division. This article provides an overview of the ethnic groups living along those rivers. However, the details of these people, their backgrounds, and their inter-ethnic […]

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The Edible Birds’ Nest Commodity Chain between Sarawak and East Asia [Daniel Chew]

The Edible Birds’ Nest Commodity Chain between Sarawak and East Asia Daniel Chew (University of Malaysia Sarawak)  Edible birds’ nest, which are moulded from the saliva of the aerodramus swiflets, forming white and black nests, are a highly prized culinary food product reputed to have health benefits. The uniqueness of the appeal of the nests is its association with the dynastic past of China as a special food for rulers and the wealthy, an appeal which carries on to this day as an expensive and prestigious food product for the ethnic Chinese wherever they live. The nests are collected from cliffs in caves and man made structures in maritime and […]

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The Motherland of Oil Palm [Noboru Ishikawa]

The Motherland of Oil Palm – a Travel Journal of West Africa Noboru Ishikawa(Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University)  The landscape of a myriad of oil palm trees has now become a familiar sight in Sarawak, Malaysia where we have been working on our project. Oil palm trees originate from Africa and just like rubber, oil palm has flourished as a commercial crop in insular Southeast Asia, very far from its original birth place. Today, oil palm (Elaeisguineensis) is grown in plantations, and now has considerable impacts on the local communities and ecological environment of Southeast Asia. The following outlines the thoughts that crossed my mind during my field […]

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International Seminar:”Current Status and Challenges of Sustainable Forest Management in Borneo”

”Current Status and Challenges of Sustainable Forest Management in Borneo: Views from governments, private sectors, NGOs, and local communities” 【Date】December 9-10, 2013 【Venue】Inamori Fundation Memorial Building, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan  On December 9 and 10, our project held an international seminar ”Current Status and Challenges of Sustainable Forest Management in Borneo: Views from governments, private sectors, NGOs, and local communities with the co-hosted of Southeast Asian Studies for Sustainable Humanosphere research program.  The two-day seminar drew about 120 participants from Japan and overseas and was concluded with success.  From this Project, Samejima and Soda made their presentations based on the researches and studies of the […]

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Research Work in Sarawak and Study on Oil Palm Business [Fumikazu Ubukata]

Research Work in Sarawak and Study on Oil Palm Business Fumikazu Ubukata(Graduate School of Environmental Science, Okayama University) 1. Non-specialist and Area Study  It always requires a certain amount of courage for an area study researcher to step into uncharted territory. Being a specialist of mainland Southeast Asia, I am not familiar with the history and geography of Malaysia and have no expertise in the language of Malay or Iban. It seems a bit strange then that such a “non-specialist” should join in an area study project outside of his field, but the project might benefit to some degree from the ideas of an outsider. I hope to make a […]

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