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Harvard Summer Program in Borneo


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An exploration of tropical biodiversity in the Malay archipelago

Featuring a joint course with the Center for Tropical Forest Science–Arnold Arboretum Asia program


Faculty: Campbell Webb, Naomi Pierce, Paul Moorcroft, and Chuck Davis
(8 credits: UN, GR) Limited enrollment

Dates: July 1–August 5, 2008
Application deadline: March 15
Cost: $6,000

The island of Borneo holds a special place in Western cultural imagination as a wilderness of unexplored jungle and once-headhunting indigenous peoples. In today’s reality, Borneo is less romantic but far more complex: a vast island (larger than Texas) of outstanding biological, geographical, and cultural diversity, split by international boundaries and exploited by multinational logging, mining, and oil-palm corporations. In its parks visitors can still encounter some of the highest local biodiversity on Earth, from orangutans, hornbills, and thousands of tree species to breathtakingly beautiful coral reefs. At the same time, Borneo offers an excellent case study of the challenges facing nature conservation in the tropics. Our five-week program in Malaysian Borneo (Sarawak and Sabah) immerses the participants in the biology, conservation issues, and culture of this amazing island. A cornerstone of the program is that only by personally grappling with the morphological and ecological variation among species can one truly understand the meaning of biodiversity.

At the beginning of the program, we assemble in Kota Kinabalu, in the Malaysian state of Sabah, then head straight to Lambir National Park in Sarawak, where students wander in the magnificent lowland forests and start formulating biological questions that they will attempt to answer over the coming weeks. Lambir is the site of one of the long-term 50-hectare forest dynamics plots of the joint Center for Tropical Forest Science–Arnold Arboretum program, and students study plant identification and complete an independent project. We also visit the giant Niah cave, an important human prehistoric site dating back 40,000 years.

Back in Kota Kinabalu we spend a week on Gaya Island, comparing and contrasting terrestrial diversity with marine coral and fish diversity, highlighting the similar mechanisms thought to promote each. We then climb through various vegetation zones to the summit of Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain between the Himalayas and the tropical glaciated peaks of New Guinea, and a diversity hotspot even within Borneo. In an applied section, we visit a sustainable logging operation. And at the Forest Research Center in Sepilok, we study forest rehabilitation strategies. At the last and most remote site, the Maliau Basin, we start with a three-day trek. We observe the wide range of vegetation types—from stunted, open woodland (kerangas) to 60-meter lowland dipterocarp forest—and stay along the way in basic bush camps. Back at the research station outside the basin, students do a second independent project that culminates in a formal presentation in Kota Kinabalu on the final day.

Course of Study

BIOL S-165 Study Abroad in Borneo, Malaysia: The Biodiversity of Borneo
This course focuses on the evolutionary and ecological processes that lead to the amazingly high biodiversity on Borneo as well as the issues that seriously threaten that diversity today. Study involves a demanding mix of lectures, field projects, and personal exploration, with local and international experts as instructors. The course also offers a unique cross-cultural experience, as the 10 Summer School participants join a similar number of students and young scientists from Southeast Asian countries. The team moves among a number of sites, visiting the major forest, mountain, and marine environments in Borneo. At some sites students participate in group data collection, and at others they learn to conduct short independent research projects. A common thread throughout the course is statistical analysis using a software program called R. Students receive instruction in tropical forest ecology, plant systematics and biogeography, entomology, coral reef ecology, cultural anthropology, tropical conservation and management issues, and tropical medical issues and their environmental causes and consequences.

Prerequisites: Harvard students must have taken one of the following courses:

Students from other universities must have completed equivalent coursework.

Course Credit

For Harvard College students, this program counts as one full-year course (8 credits) of degree credit.

Transfer credit. Harvard Summer School courses and credits are accepted toward degrees at most colleges and universities. Since degree requirements vary among schools, students are advised to obtain transfer credit approval from their home institutions before registering for Harvard Summer School courses.

Faculty

Campbell Webb, Program Director; Senior Research Scientist, Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University

Naomi Pierce, Sidney A. and John H. Hessel Professor of Biology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University

Paul Moorcroft, Associate Professor of Biology, Harvard University

Chuck Davis, Assistant Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University

Application

Students must be at least 18 years old to apply. The application materials, outlined below, are due March 15:

Applications should be addressed as follows:

Nicole García
Office of International Programs
University Hall, Ground Floor South
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA

Students are notified of admission decisions by the end of March.

Cost

The cost of the program is $6,000, plus a nonrefundable $50 application fee, covers the following:

In addition to the program fee, students are responsible for the following:

A list of required equipment will be provided.

Payment Deadlines

For admitted students, a nonrefundable deposit of $600 must be received by April 15 to secure a place in the program. Payment in full is due by May 15. A $100 late fee will be charged for payments received after this date.

Funding

Harvard College students are eligible for scholarships through the Harvard Office for International Programs (OIP). Students may consult the OIP website’s money page or contact the OIP for details. To apply for a study abroad scholarship through OIP, you will need to provide information about the program’s budget. Download* the program budget.

The Harvard College Financial Aid Office summer study webpage also provides information about assistance.

Other Harvard students may be eligible for financial assistance through their Harvard financial aid offices. Students enrolled at other institutions should consult their respective financial aid offices.

The Arnold Arboretum is subsidizing a portion of the course.

Accommodations

In Kota Kinabalu students share rooms in a comfortable, clean hotel. At field sites, accommodations are more basic (e.g., bunkhouses) but, again, clean and safe. We camp in tents for a few days on Gaya Island. Students should bring personal mosquito nets.

Physical Activity

This program immerses students in tropical biology in the field, thus a reasonable level of fitness is advisable. Several long hikes are planned (Niah, Gunung Kinabalu, and Maliau Basin), but alternative activities can be found if necessary. Participation in marine snorkeling activities requires documentation that the student passed the Harvard swimming test or the equivalent. Prior snorkeling experience is not required.

Additional Information

See the Biodiversity of Borneo 2008 website or contact Campbell Webb, cwebb@oeb.harvard.edu; phone +62-813-991-77663.

Students with disabilities should contact the disability services coordinator as soon as possible: (617) 495-0977, (617) 495-9419 (TTY), or disabilities@dcemail.harvard.edu. Request-for-accommodation forms and supporting diagnostic documentation must be submitted by April 25. More information about disability services, including request forms and guidelines for documentation, will be online by early February 2008.

Students applying for admission to Harvard’s study abroad programs should understand that although the University provides reasonable assistance and support to facilitate the participation of qualified students in its programs (including students with disabilities and health impairments), some of our programs are located in parts of the world where accommodations may not be readily available. Students are encouraged to be forthcoming with the disability services coordinator about any specific needs and functional limitations so that the Summer School can collaborate with those students in a way that fosters their safe participation and allows them to fully appreciate any barriers that they may face, depending on the location and rigors of the particular program.

Harvard Summer School is aware of the risks associated with international travel. Should the US Department of State issue a travel warning for any of the countries in which a study abroad program is planned, the program in that country may be canceled.

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