Dr June RUBIS

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney

As a former conservation biologist, I have about twelve years in hands-on wildlife conservation fieldwork experience in both Indonesian and Malaysian Borneo. I have also worked on Indigenous land rights and environmental issues in collaboration with Indigenous activists and NGOs in Malaysian Borneo (Sarawak and Sabah). I have carried out research on Bidayuh ritual revitalization, under the guidance of my Bidayuh father and relatives, linking the revitalization with environmental change in my home state of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Much of my approach to my work follows the teaching of my parents, including my late Bidayuh father, who followed his own parents' journey as traditional Bidayuh chief priest and priestess. My recent PhD research examined a decolonial Indigenous approach to orang utan conservation in Sarawak. I hold both an MSc in Environmental Change & Management and a DPhil (PhD) in Geography & Environment, from the University of Oxford.