A Squamish resident who is working to preserve the environment and culture of indigenous people affected by deforestation in Borneo was named one of 14 Canadian and foreign recipients of the prestigious Trudeau scholarship last week.
Brent Loken, who is working toward a doctorate in resource and environmental management at Simon Fraser University (SFU), attended the Trudeau Foundation's institute in Whistler May 16 to 20 to accept the award, which includes $180,000 in support of doctoral studies in the social sciences and humanities.
The Trudeau scholarships are among Canada's most coveted academic awards, SFU officials said in a statement. "The Trudeau scholarship is granted to social sciences and humanities students examining hot issues affecting Canadians in the areas of environment, international affairs, responsible citizenship, and human rights and dignity," officials said.
"Many Trudeau Scholars become leading national and international figures."
Loken has a background in both conservation biology and education. After working as a conservation biologist in various parts of North America, he shifted gears and began working as science teacher and administrator in Syria, Pakistan, Bolivia, Alaska, Tanzania and Taiwan.
While living in Taiwan, where they helped establish an international school for students in Grades 7 to 12, he and his wife Sheryl Gruber visited Borneo and fell in love with the place and people almost immediately, Loken told The Chief on Friday (May 20).
"For some reason it really resonated for us, and it became a passion," he said, adding that his background in conservation biology was part of what drew him to the place, where ancient forests have been devastated by deforestation, especially for the expansion of vast commercial palm kernel oil plantations.
"People ask me, 'Why did you choose Borneo?' In some ways I feel like Borneo kind of chose me."
Loken began working with the indigenous Wehea Dayak people in the southeastern part of Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, and founded an international non-governmental organization called Ethical Expeditions.
The Wehea Dayak have been largely displaced from their traditional way of life by the deforestation. Much of Loken's work involves finding ways to help them reconnect with their traditions, in addition to working with local people and governments to help preserve the patches of intact forest that remain.
Loken on Saturday (May 21) departed for Borneo, where he was getting set to welcome a group of undergraduate students from the U.S. and Canada to help continue the work that he and Ethical Expeditions have started.
"We view our work as multidisciplinary because we have ethnologists, ecologists, geologists," he said. "Half of the students will be working with us in the forest and half in the community. We're trying our best to look at the intersection of one and the other, because we believe you can't really separate the two."
Helping to preserve the forest also has the effect of preserving unique and endangered species of flora and fauna.
"The Wehea Forest is one of the most significant forests in East Kalimantan and contains one of the last intact orangutan populations in the region," Loken said in the SFU statement. "It may be home to all five cat species in Borneo, including the clouded leopard, flat-headed cat and Bornean bay cat."
Loken said that while working in Borneo, he realized that he could help more if he furthered his education, and he began pursuing a doctorate in resource and environmental management last year. Loken and Gruber first bought a house in Squamish in 2004 but only began living in it when Loken began his doctoral studies, he said.
The Trudeau scholarship will "support my schooling and allow me to do my research more effectively," Loken said. "It gives me a nice travel stipend - for example, it allowed me to travel back here and network with people who are at the highest levels of decision making - people like (former Canadian foreign affairs minister) Pierre Pettigrew."
He added, "I want to make sure my appreciation to the local Wehea community comes across because ultimately none of this would have been possible without their co-operation and support. Hopefully we can make a difference in their lives - that's my wish and my dream."
For more information about Ethical Expeditions, visit ethicalexpeditions.ning.com
