February 01, 2019
Wildlife ecologist, conservation planning specialist and RER Advisory Board member, Tony Sebastian, recently shared his insights on forest ecosystem restoration with Eco-Business deputy editor, Robin Hicks.
In this podcast interview, Tony draws on experiences gained over a 30-year career working to protect and restore wetlands across Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Most recently, this includes the Restorasi Ekosistem Riau project in Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia, where he is working alongside a team of ecologists to restore degraded forest areas on the Kampar Peninsula and Padang Island.
Describing this work as challenging and exciting, he says the RER programme is significant due to its rare scale and potentially vast environmental impact, and shares his observations of the purpose of restoration and the importance of developing comprehensive knowledge of a landscape and objective setting.
An optimist, Tony shares his hope for Southeast Asia’s forest landscapes noting the importance of land use planning to ensure the long-term protection of valuable landscapes such as the Kampar.
Listen here.
