Paul Hasan Thung is the Director of Conservation Social Science at Planet Indonesia and a Research Associate at Brunel University London. He completed his PhD in Social Anthropology at Brunel University in 2023, where he conducted ethnographic fieldwork in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, focusing on the intersections of environment, development, and conservation. Paul holds a BA in Philosophy from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, a BSc in Forest and Nature Conservation from Wageningen University, and an MA in Environment, Development, and Policy from the University of Sussex.
For his master’s research, Paul carried out fieldwork among the Dayak Tamambaloh community in West Kalimantan, studying how they navigated their traditional practice of swidden agriculture under a new and highly politicized ban on land burning. His professional experience also includes working as a consultant for the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Bogor, Indonesia, contributing to a project on migration and forests.
Currently, Paul applies his expertise in social anthropology to drive innovative conservation solutions and community-centered approaches to environmental challenges in Indonesian Borneo and beyond.