The Ecology of Java & Bali (9780804860420)

A landmark ecological reference for two of the most biodiverse and environmentally critical regions in Southeast Asia.

Java and Bali are the two best known islands in the vast Indonesian archipelago—biologically and culturally diverse and one of the most important nations in the world. Nowhere else in the country are ecological issues of greater importance, and nowhere else is there a better chance of the major problems being solved.

The Ecology of Java and Bali is a landmark book compiled from over 3,000 Indonesian, English and Dutch sources, many of them unavailable outside of Indonesia, as well as from original research, interviews and personal experience. It will be extremely useful to resource managers, ecologists and government planners, as well as to anyone with an interested in the region. It covers all aspects of the islands' ecology, including:

Ecological concerns: A statistical and graphical overview with an outline of the twelve most critical ecological issues currently facing these islands (and indeed all of Indonesia)

Ecological components: An inventory and description of the past and present physical, biological and human aspects of the ecology of these islands

Ecosystems: The major natural, agricultural and urban ecosystems, as well as the influence of people upon them

Conservation: Human attitudes to nature, loss of species and the means by which important elements can be conserved

Finding a path for the future: The need to encourage a stronger environmental ethic, and other changes that will need to be made to put these islands on the path of sustainability and preserve the environment for future generations


About the Author:
Tony Whitten first visited Indonesia in 1976 to conduct doctoral research on the ecology of Siberut island. For over ten years he was employed by Dalhousie University, Canada, although most of his time was spent in Indonesia or Cambridge, England, working on a variety of environmental projects with the Ministry of the Environment. His other books include The Gibbons of Siberut, The Ecology of Sumatra, The Ecology of Sulawesi, Wild Indonesia, The Freshwater Fishes of Western Indonesia and Sulawesi, and Krisis Biologi. He has also been engaged as a consultant for many of the major donor agencies. Tony Whitten now works at the World Bank in Washington D.C.

Roehayat Emon Soeriaatmadja studied for his doctorate at Oregon State University, after which he taught biology at the Bandung Institute of Technology and at the Malaysian National University. He has worked at a senior level in the Indonesian Ministry of the Environment since its beginnings in 1979, mainly as an assistant minister or special advisor. He was also responsible for the relocation of hundreds of disruptive elephants from a transmigration area in Sumatra to a new reserve. His other book is Ilmu Lingkungan, the first environmental textbook available in Indonesia, which is still used for teaching first-year students in many universities.

Suraya A. Afiff graduated in biology from the University of Indonesia, Jakarta and worked as the Manager of Ecosystem Management for the major non-governmental group WALHI (the Indonesian forum on the Environment). Her work covers all aspects of biological diversity conservation issues, but she has focused for the past few years on developing community participation in the conservation of biological resources in protected areas, and on the issues of conserving plant generic resources. She has just completed her M.A. in marine policy from the University of Miami, and is starting her doctoral programme at the University of California, Berkeley.