Christian Gonner is a biologist by profession, with specialised interests in ornithology. He also studied ethnology for years before his research work in Borneo.  Indisputably a scholar with varied academic and  research concerns, he is today recognised as a leading specialist in Applied Ecology, whose approach to resource management practices unites knowledge of natural and social sciences. Presently living in Sumatra with his family, Dr. Gonner is working for a nature conservation project. He has also been a consultant  to several Indonesian development projects from time to time.