Ms. Nomiki Karellaki, a TRACE intern and M.A. student in Cultural History and Heritage at Utrecht University, recently delivered her final presentation. This internship also served as her final M.A. thesis, supervised by TRACE team member Wengki Ariando.

Wengki Ariando's presentation at the Van Vollenhoven Institute, Leiden University, emphasizes the crucial role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in the global response to the climate crisis. It highlights that IPLCs are not just vulnerable populations, rather, they are essential stewards whose land-sea management practices contribute significantly to carbon sequestration and biodiversity preservation.

At a recent regional conference, researcher Wengki Ariando presented a sobering look into the "Political Ecology of Marginalization" facing Southeast Asia's Sea Nomads. This project is part of TRACE: Tracing evolutionary pathways in grassroots climate governance. 

Tengger Highland on Java Island, Indonesia, has been a tourist attraction since the 19th century because of its picturesque landscapes. During the British interregnum in Java, Thomas Stamford Raffles was responsible for documenting and collecting natural and cultural specimens, including those from Tengger. A multitude of European and North American scholars, military personnel, entrepreneurs, tourists, and others followed his steps towards collecting artifacts from the Tenggerese community.

The project Tracing Evolutionary Pathways in Climate Adaptation in Southeast Asia (TRACE), a European Research Council-funded Advance Grant (ERC Adv) led by Professor Diana Suhardiman and hosted by the KITLV in Leiden, is looking for four PhD candidates. The project investigates how evolutionary pathways in climate adaptation are created, sustained, and changed over time.