When people ask us about our research, we answer: we are working on land-use planning. We rarely receive another question. Most of the time, after seconds of embarrassed silence, people move swiftly to another topic. Land use planning (LUP) indeed seems the most boring topic for research: dry, bureaucratic and administrative, probably some kind of horrible desk study. However, when you go to Mamberamo, in Papua, everything is different. Far from being a “boring concept”, LUP in fact helps us to understand people’s livelihoods, what makes them react and adapt, and how they can influence their future. Read More
