Global Diversity Foundation

Southeast Asia Regional Team

Dr. Agnes Lee Agama, Regional Coordinator
James Wong, Field Coordinator
Yassin Miki, Assistant Field Coordinator

Dr. Agnes Lee Agama, Regional Coordinator

Agnes received a BArts Honours degree with a double major in Social Psychology and Anthropology from the Australian National University in 1997, and finished her PhD in Environmental Anthropology at the University of Kent, UK, in 2004. Her research interests focus on the social transformation of local communities who live alongside protected areas, especially transformations in indigenous plant knowledge and changes in local attitudes towards plant conservation and community-based forest management in Sabah. From 1997 to 2003, Agnes worked for WWF Malaysia on the People and Plants Southeast Asia Programme and several community-based conservation initiatives. She continues to work closely with local communities in Sabah and builds partnerships with local government agencies to support sustainable livelihoods approaches. She speaks English and Bahasa Malaysia fluently.

Agnes is Project Coordinator for the Darwin Initiative project carried out jointly by The Global Diversity Foundation, Sabah Parks and Universiti Malaysia Sabah. The project is carrying out a three-year ethnobiological assessment of resources and landscapes in the area of Buayan-Kionop in the Crocker Range. Working closely with the local communities and partner institutions, project results will inform the establishment of Community Use Zones that allow community access and use of designated areas within the Crocker Range Park.

James Wong, Field Coordinator

Originally from Sibu, Sarawak, James received a BArts in Geography from the Universiti Malaysia Sabah in 2001. His research interests lie in working with local communities to build grassroots initiatives that support plant conservation and sustainable rural development. From 2002 to 2004, he worked for WWF Malaysia under the Community-based Conservation Project in Ulu Padas, Sabah where he focussed on building local community capacity through development research in tourism and orchid conservation. Talented in languages, he speaks various Chinese dialects, English, Malay, Iban, and is learning Lun Dayeh and Dusun.

James is Field Coordinator for the Darwin Initiative project carried out jointly by The Global Diversity Foundation, Sabah Parks and Universiti Malaysia Sabah. He coordinates the implementation of ethnobiological field techniques to assess resource and landscape use among the Buayan-Kionop Dusun in the Crocker Range. James is additionally completing a Master’s degree at the Universiti Malaysia Sabah on the impact of swidden agriculture on soil fertility in Buayan-Kionop.

Yassin Miki, Assistant Field Coordinator

Yassin is from Kiau Nuluh, an indigenous Dusun community located at the periphery of Kinabalu Park. He received a BSc in Forestry from the Universiti Malaysia Sabah in 2004 where he researched the tourism potential of the Crocker Range Park. Yassin has worked in a diverse range of fields, ranging from village agricultural activities, guiding tourists up Mount Kinabalu, to working full time with Sabah Parks as a botanical assistant. His research interests include plant conservation, people and park interactions, and the development of tourism in and around parks. He is fluent in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Dusun (his mother tongue).

Yassin is Assistant Field Coordinator for the Darwin Initiative project carried out jointly by The Global Diversity Foundation, Sabah Parks and Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Working closely with our team of Community Field Assistants and community members on implementing a range of ethnobiological techniques to assess resource and landscape use, Yassin is also completing a Master’s degree at UMS on a comparative analysis of home gardens in the Buayan-Kionop area of the Crocker Range.