Our Team 

Chris is a primatologist with extensive experience in conserving key forest habitats in concession-dominated landscapes. Before joining AidEnvironment Asia in 2017, he worked for an orangutan conservation organisation in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, where his work focused on protecting orangutan habitat and other conservation areas inside oil palm plantations. As Executive Director of Sangga Bumi Lestari, Chris works with the Programme Director to manages day to day operations of the organisation and ensure a smooth implementation of all projects. He also contributes his expertise to projects to increase the sustainability performance of Indonesia’s forestry and agricultural sectors, and conserve, recover, and connect forests in Kalimantan.

Monalisa is a native of Ketapang in West Kalimantan and has a degree in forest management from Tanjungpura University. Mona has worked in sustainable development for over 20 years, principally in Kalimantan but also in North Sumatra, West Java, Papua, and Ethiopia. In recent years, Mona has become an expert in the development of strategies to increase implementation of the Indonesian government’s social forestry policy. This takes two forms: supporting communities to protect their local environment and mitigate against the impacts of environmental degradation, and engaging with key government departments to encourage the development of jurisdictional approaches to support conservation and sustainable development. Mona oversees all of Sangga Bumi Lestari’s projects in Indonesia.

Niawati joined Sangga Bumi Lestari in 2022 and has a background in finance and accounting studies. At Sangga Bumi Lestari, Niawati is responsible for the smooth running of all finance, bookkeeping and accounting procedures, ensuring Sangga Bumi Lestari is compliant with all finance and accounting regulations in Indonesia. She also works with our auditors to ensure Sangga Bumi Lestari’s accounts are audited and meet international accounting standards. Before joining Sangga Bumi Lestari, Niawati worked as finance and accounting manager in several multinational companies.

Dessy joined Sangga Bumi Lestari in 2022. She manages all operations for the organisation, ensuring the smooth running of the Jakarta, Ketapang and satellite offices, and making sure all projects can be effectively implemented. Dessy has developed all the Standard Operating Procedures and HR procedures that Sangga Bumi Lestari operates under and ensures compliance with all laws and regulations in Indonesia. Prior to joining the organisation, Dessy worked in office administration and human resources for several companies in the renewable energy sector.

Ronny has over 25 years of experience in community- based forest conservation. A native of Pontianak, Ronny manages projects in West Kalimantan to support communities seeking social forestry designation, develop collaborative strategies to manage social forestry areas, works with communities to establish sustainable livelihood initiatives, engages with the provincial and district governments to advance conservation and sustainable development goals, and develops strategies for corporate companies to conserve forests in and around concessions.

Irene has more than 20 years of experience providing technical assistance to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) activities, disaster risk reduction initiatives, Integrated Watershed Management Plans, and climate resilience projects. Based in Kulon Progo, she engages with government departments and key regional development stakeholders, leads Focus Group Discussions and training workshops with communities and private sector companies, supports monitoring and evaluation activities, and increases capacity of smallholder farmers to become more climate resilient.

Okita has an educational background in industrial ecology. At Sangga Bumi Lestari, Okita coordinates research into the oil palm and timber sectors in Indonesia, and leads engagement with corporate companies and other key industry stakeholders. Her work focuses particularly on identifying companies that manage oil palm and forestry concessions, and mapping their forest landbanks, ownership structures, links to other companies, and supply chains. Okita also identifies significant trends in forestry and agricultural sectors, particularly how government regulations impact land-use in different sectors.

Uni has an educational background in forest management. Since joining Sangga Bumi Lestari in 2018, Uni has led the development of our concession database, verifying concession boundaries and identifying concession owners and supply chain links. This database informs our understanding of land-use issues in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. She focuses on analysing palm oil and timber supply chains, overseeing fieldwork verification, verifying land-use change, and engaging with companies to increase sustainability and develop landscape conservation initiatives.

Riyan is a native of Ketapang and joined Sangga Bumi Lestari in 2021. He manages projects to increase sustainability in Indonesia’s land-use sectors, bringing together key stakeholders to develop landscape conservation projects, with a particular emphasis on increasing forest connectivity and collective management of forest areas in concession-dominated landscapes. Riyan has several years of experience developing and implementing youth-focused education activities in Kalimantan, and has a MSc in sustainability management from Gadjah Mada University and Agder University, Norway.

Filian joined Sangga Bumi Lestari in 2022. He has a bachelor’s degree in forestry from Tanjungpura University and a master’s degree in forest management science from the Bogor Agricultural University. Fili has experience in Geographical Information System (GIS) and remote sensing, conducting High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) assessments, land-use change monitoring, and developing spatial plans to inform the implementation of landscape-based conservation projects. A registered HCS assessor, Fili coordinates our GIS team.

Fitra has a bachelor’s degree in forestry from Tanjungpura University, West Kalimantan. Since graduating in 2015, Fitra has worked as a freelance botanist and High Conservation Value assessor, collaborating with several government and non-governmental organizations, mainly in West Kalimantan. Fitra has over 12 years of experience as a conservation botanist and supports our projects focusing biodiversity and landscape ecology conservation.

Lekti joined Sangga Bumi Lestari in 2023 as Project Coordinator – Community Development, working predominantly on our project in Kapuas Hulu. Lekti is a native of Kubu Raya in West Kalimantan and has spent the last few years working on projects to enhance community management of forests and facilitate inclusion of women in sustainable development. Her role at Sangga Bumi Lestari builds on this experience, focusing on supporting indigenous communities to achieve customary forest (Hutan Adat) designation and develop economic opportunities.

Bendril has a bachelor’s degree in forestry from the Tanjungpura University in West Kalimantan. Bendril has been working in biodiversity conservation for over 6 years, focused on developing botanical inventories, conducting Environmental Impact Assessments, and supporting biodiversity and vegetation surveys. At Sangga Bumi Lestari, Bendril focuses on supporting indigenous communities to achieve customary forest (Hutan Adat) designation and supporting biodiversity and vegetation surveys, particularly focused on primate species.

Alwan has an educational background in forestry, having graduated from Bogor Agricultural University (IPB). He joined Sangga Bumi Lestari in 2023 and works as a GIS Officer. Based in Ketapang, Alwan supports our projects with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) expertise, mapping analysis, data collection, remote sensing, drone operation, and assisting field teams.

Fahmi joined Sangga Bumi Lestari in 2023. A native of Pontianak, he has a background in forestry, GIS, and spatial analysis, and is a drone helicopter pilot. Fahmi has extensive experience working with several NGOs in West Kalimantan, as a surveyor, field assistant, and investigator. At Sangga Bumi Lestari, Fahmi conducts land-use change monitoring and land-use change analysis of key landscapes.

Kusnadi is a native of Ketapang and joined Sangga Bumi Lestari in 2023 to work in our GIS team. Kusnadi has spent the last few years working as a drone pilot, GIS officer and coordinator of an orangutan monitoring and patrolling team for a conservation NGO in Ketapang. He has experience in data collection, SMART patrolling, mapping, and assisting field teams. At Sangga Bumi Lestari, Kusnadi conducts land-use change monitoring and land-use change analysis of key landscapes.

Nurdiati has an academic background in education. Always interested in the conservation of forests and wildlife in her native Ketapang, Nurdiati focuses on community engagement and government outreach in Ketapang and wider West Kalimantan. Nurdiati also provides administrative assistance to our West Kalimantan projects, ensuring a smooth implementation of projects in rural indonesia.