Associate Professor
Department of Forest Conservation Sciences
Research Themes
People and forests | Traditional ecological knowledge | Indigenous and local communities | Art and science | Tropical landscapes and livelihoods
Geographical Area(s) of Research
Indonesia | Cambodia | Cameroon | Congo Basin | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Central African Republic | Canada
Top Three Research Questions on Biodiversity Solutions and Sustainable Coexistence of People and Nature
1. How local governance system support biodiversity conservation in the tropics?
2. Can arts and artistic expression help in biodiversity conservation and land stewardship?
3. Can customary and formal forest governance system co-exist for better livelihood and environmental outcomes?
Bio
Intu has a multidisciplinary background (Anthropology, Fine Arts, Cinematography and Natural Sciences) and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at UBC.
Intu has worked with multidisciplinary teams in remote locations in tropical landscapes and seascapes in Asia, Africa and Latin America. She has focused on issues with indigenous people and local communities, particularly on the importance of their traditional knowledge and wise practices in natural resources management and the conservation of their cultural diversity. Intu’s research has sought to enable forest dependent people, coastal communities and indigenous groups to achieve a balance between conservation and social, cultural and economic development.
In her research, Intu uses visual techniques to explore landscape scenarios and other participatory methods to maximize the involvement of diverse stakeholder groups. Her goal is to have an influence on global efforts to support indigenous people and local communities to improve their livelihoods whilst retaining their identity, cultural diversity, traditional knowledge, environment and natural assets.