Gregory Acciaioli

Gregory Acciaioli serves as a Senior Honorary Research Fellow in Anthropology at the School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia, with affiliation to the UWA Oceans Institute. His work bridges academic research and practical environmental governance across Southeast Asia, focusing on indigenous communities' responses to ecological and political transformations.

His educational background includes a PhD from the Australian National University (ANU), an MA from Stanford University, and an AB from the University of Chicago. This foundation supports his interdisciplinary approach to anthropological theory and fieldwork.

Acciaioli's research centers on environmental anthropology in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia, examining indigeneity, resource governance, and globalization impacts. He investigates how communities navigate oil palm plantation expansion, climate change adaptation, and decentralization policies through revitalization movements and customary practice reworkings. His work integrates linguistic anthropology and visual ethnography to document socio-ecological transitions.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals consistent focus on collaborative environmental governance, with emerging emphasis on climate adaptation in Nepal and Malaysia's Orang Asli development. Key trends include indigenous knowledge integration in forest management, political ecology of corporate-community partnerships, and place-based conservation ethics in river ecosystems.

He has secured seven competitive research grants, primarily Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Projects, including the ongoing 'Revitalisation Movements in Contemporary Indonesia' and 'Social Capital, Natural Resources and Local Governance in Indonesia' initiatives. These projects examine indigenous environmental movements through governance frameworks and social capital critiques.

Acciaioli actively collaborates with Indonesian foundations (IRE and PALMA) on village forest establishment (hutan desa) and Lore Lindu National Park co-management. His current fieldwork addresses resistance to oil palm expansion and sustainable resource governance across archipelagic Southeast Asia.