Yogyakarta, March 8—The Bala Gadjah Mada Team of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Gadjah Mada University (UGM), restored the Miniature Tropical Rainforest of the National Capital City (IKN) by planting 100 endemic Kalimantan trees with students from SMPN 27 Penajam Paser Utara on February 8, 2026.

The land, which is now the IKN’s Central Government Core Area (KIPP), was previously an industrial forest concession area with eucalyptus monocultures. This plant has a short cutting cycle—six to seven years—and is designated for the paper industry. read more

Yogyakarta, January 22, 2026─The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) of  Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) sent off the National Capital Expedition Team on Wednesday (January 22) at the Faculty’s Dean’s Office. The team will conduct social research in Penajam Paser Utara Regency, East Kalimantan, as part of the students’ academic contribution to development and environmental issues.

The IKN Expedition Team consists of 12 students from five study programs under the Faculty Student Activity Unit Sentrajana. During this expedition, the team will conduct social research in two villages: Pamaluan and Bumi Harapan, with a focus on understanding and identifying environmental issues arising from the development of the National Capital area on the surrounding community. In addition to social research, the team will also conduct various educational campaigns to raise public awareness and concern for the importance of environmental sustainability. read more

Yogyakarta, October 27, 2025—The Academic Innovation unit of Fisipol UGM has initiated a new course titled “Forest Carbon Literacy 2025” on the FOCUS platform. The launching ceremony for the new course invited three speakers, as well as a module writer from the Forest Carbon Literacy 2025 course, that is Wahyu Yun Santoso (Lecturer at Fakultas of Law UGM), Budi Mulyana (Lecturer at Faculty of Forestry UGM), and Sarah Wibisono (Sustainability Consultant).

This year, the course is created with the intent to focus on the management of forest on the international level, emphasizing through cross-border comparison in understanding the best practices, as well as failures management of forests in other areas. In the making of this course, Fisipol UGM, through the Academic Innovation Unit, collaborated with UGM’s Faculty of Forestry, Faculty of Law, Chakra Giri Energi Indonesia, and Oxfam.  read more

Vandy Yoga Swara, lecturer at the Department of Social Development and Welfare (PSdK), Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) Universitas Gadjah Mada, has recently published his latest scholarly work in the international journal Habitat International (Elsevier). The article, titled “River’s End: The Violence of Indigenous Riverine Urbanization in the Making of Indonesia’s New Capital,” was co-authored with Kei Otsuki and Femke van Noorloos (Utrecht University, Netherlands) as well as Michelle Kooy (IHE-Delft Institute for Water Education, Netherlands). read more

Latest article from Megashift FISIPOL UGM
“Energy Transition from the Fields: Agrivoltaics Meets Agroforestry”
By: Fikri Danang Himawan

This article explores the concept of agrivoltaics — the integration of solar panels and agriculture on the same land — and how this system can be combined with agroforestry, a land management practice that integrates trees, food crops, and/or livestock. The combination of these two approaches offers a solution to address the challenges of renewable energy, food sustainability, land-use efficiency, and climate change adaptation. read more

The third edition of IIS UGM’s Monthly Review is here, bringing you fresh insights and the latest knowledge!

Featured articles in this issue include:
• When Vietnam’s Lotus Blooms in BRICS Water (Christopher Paller Gerale, Universitas Negeri Malang)
• The Structural Crisis Behind Bangladesh’s 2024 Student Protest (Allene Florence Fadhilah Darmawan, Department of International Relations UGM, 2023)
• The Making of Macan Asia in A Shifting Western Geopolitical Landscape (Aminah Rafa, Department of International Relations UGM)
• Indonesia’s Dilemma Between Nickel Extraction and Biosphere Preservation (Paramasatya Rakha Abiyoga, Department of International Relations UGM) read more

Bayu Dardias Kurniadi, lecturer at the Department of Politics and Government (DPP), Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) Universitas Gadjah Mada, has achieved another academic milestone through his latest publication in the internationally renowned journal Journal of Peasant Studies (Routledge). The article, titled “Dispossession by Archive: Contemporary Land Grabbing Through Colonial Land Deeds in Indonesia,” was co-authored with Diana Suhardiman, Ward Berenschot, Dianto Bachriadi, Hilma Safitri, and Rizki Maulana Hakim. read more

Yogyakarta, July 17, 2025 — Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), through the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL), officially held the soft launching of the book “Community Empowerment and Sustainable Partnership: Experiences and Reflections of Working with Communities in the Special Purpose Forest Area (KHDTK) Blora–Ngawi” on Thursday afternoon at Multimedia Room 1, UGM Rectorate Building. This book serves as a reflective and scholarly documentation of UGM’s long journey in community-based forest management since 2016. read more

Are you passionate about writing and interested in issues related to digital transformation? We invite you to contribute your ideas and submit your articles to be published on the Megashift FISIPOL UGM website! ☺️

Important Notes:

Detailed submission guidelines and suggested subtopics are clearly outlined in the official poster.

This call for articles is open year-round, with no submission deadline.

Articles should be no longer than 1,000 words, including references.

Submissions must include citations from publications, journals, or books written by FISIPOL UGM lecturers or researchers. read more

MEGASHIFT, a publication initiative by the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) Universitas Gadjah Mada, has released its latest feature article highlighting urgent socio-political issues in Indonesia. Titled “Indigenous Women and the Politics of Periphery in Forest Conservation in Papua”, the article by Halimatu Sa’diah sheds light on the structural injustices faced by Indigenous Papuan women in their struggle to protect ancestral forests.

The article critically explores how Indigenous women—often positioned at the margins of state power—play a crucial role in forest conservation through their deep-rooted local knowledge. Through the lens of periphery politics, Sa’diah analyzes how centralized governance in Java, industrial expansion, and the inadequate legal protection for Indigenous communities have systematically marginalized women, both economically and socially. read more