Citarum Living Lab, an effort to revitalize river collaboratively based on the community

NEWS - The Citarum River, one of Indonesia’s most polluted waterways, is undergoing a transformation towards revitalisation through an innovative “Living Lab” approach. Research led by Monash University explores how the Citarum Living Lab contributes to planetary health in response to global river pollution and economic development imperatives.

The Citarum River in West Java, Indonesia, is a critical source of water, food, energy and livelihood for over 25 million people.

The Citarum Living Lab is an effort to collaboratively restore and empower rivers. A pioneering program that combines community-led, cross-disciplinary research and practical interventions to address pollution, urbanisation and climate change impacts.

The project brings together local communities, government, NGOs, businesses and researchers to collaboratively develop and test sustainable solutions to restore river ecosystems. An initiative that explores local knowledge and encourages community participation to create scalable solutions that balance economic, social and environmental needs.

"Through the Citarum Living Lab, we aim to empower communities and stakeholders to collaboratively develop actionable strategies to address the complex challenges facing the Citarum River," said Paris Hadfield, Research Fellow from Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI)

A new approach to more inclusive and effective watershed management, particularly in peri-urban environments. The research focuses on the importance of local engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing global environmental challenges and sustainable development goals. A key aspect of the project is practical and sustainable design interventions.

"The design element is critical to this project, as it helps integrate technical solutions with the social fabric of the community. This creates a system that is not only efficient but also culturally and socially resonant," said Michaela Prescott from Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA)

Original research

Hadfield P, Prescott M, Holden J, Novalia W, Suwarso R, Marthanty DR, et al. (2024). Citarum Living Lab: Co-creating visions for sustainable river revitalisation. PLOS Water 3(8): e0000200, DOI:10.1371/journal.pwat.0000200

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Takenoshin Nakai swallow-wort (Vincetoxicum nakaianum) replaces V. magnificum and C. magnificum

NEWS - Researchers reported an erect herbaceous species distributed in the eastern part of Honshu Island, Vincetoxicum magnificum (Nakai) Kitag. based on Cynanchum magnificum Nakai, nomen nudum. Therefore, they named this species Takenoshin Nakai swallow-wort ( Vincetoxicum nakaianum K.Mochizuki & Ohi-Toma). Vincetoxicum Wolf (Asclepiadeae) is the third largest genus in the Asclepiadoideae consisting of about 260 species geographically extending from tropical Africa, Asia and Oceania to temperate regions of Eurasia. A total of 23 species are known from Japan, including 16 endemic species. Molecular phylogeny divides Japanese Vincetoxicum into four groups: the “Far Eastern” clade consisting of 11 endemic species and 4 more widespread species, 1 sister species to the “Far Eastern” clade, the “subtropical” clade consisting of 2 species and the “Vincetoxicum s. str.” clade consisting of 5 species. V. magnificum (Nakai) Kitag. (Japanese: tachi-gashiwa) is closely related to V. macro...

Purhepecha oak (Quercus purhepecha), new species of shrub oak endemic to the state of Michoacán, Mexico

NEWS - In Mexico, several Quercus shrubby species are taxonomically very problematic including 8 taxa with similar characteristics. Now researchers report the purhepecha oak ( Quercus purhepecha De Luna-Bonilla, S. Valencia & Coombes sp. nov.) as a new tomentose shrubby white oak species with a distribution only in the Cuitzeo basin in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB). Quercus Linnaeus (1753) subdivided into 2 subgenera and 8 sections of which section Quercus (white oaks) has the widest distribution in the Americas, Asia and Europe. This section is very diverse in Mexico and Central America with phylogenomic evidence indicating recent and accelerated speciation in these regions. The number of shrubby oak species in Mexico is still uncertain. De Luna-Bonilla of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and colleagues found at least 3 taxa in the TMVB, specifically Quercus frutex Trelease (1924), Quercus microphylla Née (1801) and Quercus repanda Bonpland (1809). In 2016,...

Dlium