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The Barito River Initiative for Nature Conservation and Communities (BRINCC) is an independant scientific expedition to a remote rainforest ecosystem in Indonesian Borneo.
The expedition team, made up of half Indonesian and half international scientists, will provide the first ever systematic biodiversity survey of the flora and fauna in this threatened region. Simultaneously, the team’s social scientists will work with the local Dayak people - making sure their views are heard and empowering them to participate in the conservation of the region. This work, vital to the conservation effort in the area, will provide much needed evidence as to why the area needs conserving, and how best to do it. The results of the expedition will be published in accademic journals and presented to local and international conservation NGOs, regional authorities and to the Indonesian government as well as raising awareness around the world.
Who are we?
BRINCC consists of a group of scientists from six countries, all of whom have worked in conservation in Indonesian Borneo. With a combined experience in research in South-East Asian rainforests of over 40 years, the team combines highly established scientists with promising young researchers. For more details about the team, click here.
Where are we going?
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in the world. Already home to 150,000 species of flowering plants, 210 mammal species (44 of which are endemic) and flag-ship species such as gibbons, orang-utans and clouded leopards, new species are still continually being discovered, at an average rate of 3 per month.
Yet this unique and special rainforest ecosytem is under threat from logging, palm oil plantations, industrial mining, land conversion and forest fires. Where once almost the entirety of Borneo was covered with rainforest, now less than one third remains. See ‘Why are we going’
BRINCC Expedition will travel up the Murung river (also called the upper Barito), located near the geographical center of Borneo and spanning the equator, in the watershead of the mighty Barito river. This area, at the base of the highlands is known as ‘The Heart of Borneo’.
What are we doing?
We will build three forest camps at different altitudes form where we will survey six research sites selected on our recce, and work with local Dayak people who live on the river’s edge. In each of our research sites we collect rigorous scientific biodiveristy surveys of a number of taxa including small mammals, birds, butterflies, plants, nocternal primates, amphibians and reptiles as well as doing population surveys on gibbons and orang-utans.
In order to gather local perspectives as to how the ecosystem should be conserved, our social science team will be working with the local population to map forest resource using GIS satellite technology. The social science team will also be using participatory research techniques to gain perspectives and understanding of local needs in a way that empowers them and gives them a voice. 
Why are we doing it?
Borneo rainforests are one of the most biodiverse habitats in the world, home to thousands of species many of them unique to the island. However, they are also seriously under threat from logging, mining for gold and coal, palm oil plantations and forest fires. To protect this irreplaceable natural wonder, good hard science is needed to identify and protect the areas which are richest and to do so in a way that protects the livelihoods of indigenous peoples. BRINCC Expedition forms part of wide ranging strategy by conservation organisations, to identify and protect those parts of Borneo that need protecting the most. 
Image Left Source: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 2010 "Extent of deforestation in Borneo 1950-2005, and projection towards 2020". Last Stand of the Orangutan, Rapid Response Assessment. UNEP. Image Right: WWF (2005) Borneo: Treasure Island at Risk
Our Supporters:
BRINCC Expedition has been endorsed by The Oxford University Wildfilfe Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), who also deal with our finances and scrutinise our accounts.
We are hugely grateful to the oragnisations below for their support.
