The CI staff who work in Papua Province every day made both Rapid Assessment Programs (RAPs) possible.
The RAPs have been led by Bruce Beehler, Ph.D., Vice President of CI's Melanesia Center for Biodiversity Conservation. Bruce has worked for CI for 10 years and has been working in New Guinea for 35 years.
Neville Kemp
Mamberamo Program Manager
Neville trained as an ecologist (B.Sc. Honors) at Leeds University and subsequently graduated from Aberdeen University with a Master's in Forestry Management specializing in tropical forest management and ecology. Since 1994, he has work for conservation and sustainable development in Vietnam and Indonesia. During his 10 years in Indonesia he has worked on Siberut Island, Sumba and Timor, Java, and Papua carrying out community and traditional council capacity development, mapping, and conservation awareness. Now heading the CI-Papua Mamberamo program, Neville is bringing a new focus to this exciting program in one of Papua's largest unbroken wildernesses. Neville also takes an interest in bird watching and bird photography.
Fitri Ariyanti
Administration Coordinator
Fitri has a diploma in tourism from Indonesia Tourism Academy (API) in Yogyakarta and joined CI-Indonesia in January 2001. She is based in Jayapura. Fitri is now the office manager in Jayapura and heads up a small administrative support team for the Mamberamo program.
Abdul Muthalib
IT and Communication Officer
Thalib graduated from the Indonesia School of Computer and Information Technology in Malang, East Java, and joined CI in 2001 as Information Technology and Communication Coordinator for the Papua program. He is responsible for information technology in the Mamberamo program and develops the local conservation communication and media that inform local stakeholders and the public about the Mamberamo program.
Suryati
Finance Officer
Suryati has been with the Mamberamo program since 2006 and manages financial aspects of the Mamberamo program including budgeting, planning, and reporting. Her experience in a variety of companies has brought a valuable asset to CI.
Yoseph Watopa
Field Program Coordinator
Yoseph joined CI's Papua program in 2002 and is the Mamberamo Field Program Coordinator. He studied economics in the Department of Development Studies at the University of Cenderawasih Papua and has a rare talent for working with communities and explaining the conservation work that CI carries out in local terms.
Jance Bemei
Mamberamo Field Leader
Jance graduated from the Department of Anthropology, University of Cendrawasih. He began as a CI-Indonesia volunteer for the Mamberamo program and was later recruited as the Mamberamo field officer. He now leads the small team of dedicated field officers that plan and implement CI activities in the Mamberamo. He also supervises local staff that we have contracted to work in each village.
Hugo Yoteni
Field Conservation Officer
Hugo joined CI's Papua program in 1999. A graduate of the Faculty of Education, University of Cenderawasih, he began as support staff, providing information and assisting research activities in the Papua program, including a mini-RAP for insects. He now helps communities draft conservation agreements from the Multidisciplinary Landscape Assessment (MLA) mapping activities that have been implemented in each village in which CI works.
Henni Ohee
Papua Conservation Science Officer
Following her graduation from University of Indonesia with a Master's in Conservation Biology, Henni works with CI in addition to her permanent position as a junior lecturer at the University of Cendrawasih. As a part-time CI employee, Henni serves as Papua's Conservation Science Officer, working together with the Jayapura/Mamberamo team and CI offices in Atherton and Jakarta. With the completion of the biodiversity planning work in the Mamberamo, Henni's role will move to planning and implementation of RAP in the Mamberamo region.
Budi Iraningrum
Biodiversity Research Officer
Ira graduated from the National University with a degree in biology. She has been with CI for three years, based in Jakarta. She plays a vital role in the administration and planning of large scale activities such as the RAPs, which require governmental support and permissions. Her role is critical for the design and implementation of future research that will be carried out in the Mamberamo.
Theo Nari
Mamberamo Field Officer
Theo has been with the Mamberamo program for one year. Starting out as a volunteer, he quickly showed aptitude for working with communities and has become a value team member for the field program and an excellent cook on Foja expeditions.
Tommy Allan Wakum
Communication Coordinator
Tommy joined CI's Papua program in 2001 after leaving the Rural Community Development Foundation (Yayasan Pembangunan Masyarakat Desa-YPMD) in 1989. Tommy's relationship with CI began with the Irian Jaya Biodiversity Conservation Priority-Setting Workshop in 1997. He studied political science and state administration at the University of Cendrawasih. He has recently become the coordinator for communications and is the lead for nurturing CI partnerships with other NGOs and local government – a key component of all of the Mamberamo work.
Irwan Chalid Soplely
Conservation Information Officer
Irwan has many roles in CI's Mamberamo program, from documenting conservation-related articles for publication on our blogspot to filming and editing CI field activities. Irwan plans to branch out into community conservation awareness campaigns and media design in the near future.
Do you have questions or comments about the Foja Mountains expedition? Write to us at foja@conservation.org.