Senior Assistant Professor Merlin F. Franco of the Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam presented a TEDx Talk on “The Beauty of Local Plants and Animal Names.” In this engaging talk, Dr. Franco explains that although there are scientific names for plant and animal species, local names provide us with important insights and […]
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Merlin F. Franco
Senior Assistant Professor
About
Dr. Merlin Franco is Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at IAS.
He is an ethnobiologist interested in the interrelationship between human culture, language and biodiversity (Biocultural Diversity).
He believes that the traditional knowledge of the indigenous communities that is embedded in their respective native languages holds the key for prudent management of ecosystem services.
Dr. Franco currently serves as Editor in Chief of Ethnobotany Research and Applications. In the past, Dr. Franco has worked with Curtin Sarawak Research Institute (2012-2015) and Earthwatch Institute- India (2011-2012).
Research Interests
• Biocultural Diversity- relationship between indigenous languages, culture and biodiversity
• Indigenous calendric systems
• Biodiversity and Ecosystem services
• Traditional Agricultural Systems
• Eco-criticism
Select Publications
Books
Franco, F.M., M. Knudsen & N.H. Hassan. 2022. Case Studies in Biocultural Diversity from Southeast Asia: Traditional Ecological Calendars, Folk Medicine and Folk Names. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6719-0
Franco, F.M. (Ed), 2021. Vol 1 & 2, Ethnobotany of Mountain regions of Southeast Asia. Springer. https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-030-38389-3
Franco, F.M. & D. Narasimhan. 2012. Ethnobotany of the Kondh, Poraja, Gadaba and Bonda of the Koraput region of Odisha, India. DK Printworld, New Delhi.
Balasubramanian, A.V., T.D. Nirmala Devi & Franco, F.M., (Eds). 2009. Use of Animal Products in Traditional Agriculture. Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems, Chennai.
Journal Articles
Franco, F.M. (2022). Ecocultural or Biocultural? Towards Appropriate Terminologies in Biocultural Diversity. Biology 11, 207. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11020207
Bakar, N., Franco, F.M. (2022). The fading popularity of a local ecological calendar from Brunei Darussalam, Borneo. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 18, 33. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-022-00525-9
Franco, F. M. (2021). Intellectualist premise of folk names support their restoration in formal taxonomy. Ethnobotany Research and Applications, 21, 1–3. https://ethnobotanyjournal.org/index.php/era/article/view/2747
EP Axelsson, EP, FM Franco, D Lussetti, KC Grady, U Ilstedt (2021). Mega El Niño’s change the playing field for culturally important tree species and hence the foundation for human-nature interactions in tropical forests. Trees, Forests and People Volume 5: 100109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2021.100109
F. Merlin Franco and Nurzahidah Bakar “Persistence of the Salty-Sweet Nipah Sugar in the Popular Foodways of Brunei Darussalam,” Journal of Ethnobiology 40(3), 368-385, (24 September 2020).
Kamsani, K., F. M. Franco, F. Slik (2020). A comparative account of the traditional healing practices of healers and non-healers in the Kiudang area of Brunei Darussalam. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2020.112788
Franco, F.M., Chaw, L.L., Bakar, N. et al. (2020). Socialising over fruits and vegetables: the biocultural importance of an open-air market in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 16, 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-020-0356-6
Franco, F.M. and Minggu, M.J. (2019). When the seeds sprout, the hornbills hatch: understanding the traditional ecological knowledge of the Ibans of Brunei Darussalam on hornbills. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 15: 46. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-019-0325-0
Prabakaran, K., R. Nagarajan, S. Eswaramoorthi, A. Anandkumar, F. Merlin Franco (2019). Environmental significance and geochemical speciation of trace elements in Lower Baram River sediments. Chemosphere (219): 933-953.
Hidayati, S., B.A.A. Ghani, B. Giridharan, M. Z. Hassan, F. Merlin Franco (2018). Using Ethnotaxonomy to Assess Traditional Knowledge and Language Vitality: A Case Study with the Vaie People of Sarawak, Malaysia. Ethnobiology Letters 9(2):33–47.
Hidayati, S., N.I. Suansa, Samin, & Franco, F.M. (2017). “Using Ethnotaxonomy to assess Traditional Knowledge and Language Vitality: A Case Study with the Urang Kanekes (Baduy) of Banten, Indonesia”. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 14 (4): 576-582
Prabhakaran, K., R. Nagarajan, Franco, F.M., & A. Anand Kumar (2017). “Biomonitoring of Malaysian Aquatic Environments: A Review of Status and Prospects”. Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 17 (2): 134-147.
Franco, F.M. (2015). “Calendars and Ecosystem Management: Some Observations. Human Ecology 43 (2): 355-359.
Book Chapters
F. Merlin Franco (2023). Natural Ecosystems and Their Management in Brunei Darussalam. In Aris Ananta, Hoon Chang-Yau and Mahani Hamdan (eds.), Stability, Growth and Sustainability: Catalysts for Socio-economic Development in Brunei Darussalam. Singapore: ISEAS Publishing.
Hidayati, S., Franco, F.M., Abdul Ghani, B.A., Giridharan, B., Hassan, M.Z. (2022). Folk Fish Names Are Condensed Forms of Traditional Knowledge: Case Study with the Vaie People of Sarawak, Malaysia. In: Franco, F.M., Knudsen, M., Hassan, N.H. (eds) Case Studies in Biocultural Diversity from Southeast Asia. Asia in Transition, vol 19. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-
16-6719-0_8
Hidayati, S., Franco, F.M., Suhaimi, A. (2022). Folk Plant Names Are Condensed Forms of Traditional Knowledge: Case Study with the Urang Kanekes of Banten, Indonesia. In: Franco, F.M., Knudsen, M., Hassan, N.H. (eds) Case Studies in Biocultural Diversity from Southeast Asia. Asia in Transition, vol 19. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6719-0_7
Bakar, N., Franco, F.M., Hassan, N.H. (2022). The Intersection of Kedayan Folk Medicine and Traditional Ecological Calendar. In: Franco, F.M., Knudsen, M., Hassan, N.H. (eds) Case Studies in Biocultural Diversity from Southeast Asia. Asia in Transition, vol 19. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6719-0_5
Lokho, K., Franco, F.M., Narasimhan, D. (2022). Calendar Keepers: The Unsung Heroes in Indigenous Landscape Management. In: Franco, F.M., Knudsen, M., Hassan, N.H. (eds) Case Studies in Biocultural Diversity from Southeast Asia. Asia in Transition, vol 19. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6719-0_3
Franco, F.M., Knudsen, M., Hassan, N.H. (2022). Case Studies in Biocultural Diversity from Southeast Asia—Traditional Ecological Calendars, Folk Medicine and Folk Names. In: Franco, F.M., Knudsen, M., Hassan, N.H. (eds) Case Studies in Biocultural Diversity from Southeast Asia. Asia in Transition, vol 19. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6719-0_1
Franco, F.M., Mustaqim, W.A. (2021). Introduction to Ethnobotany of the Mountain Regions of Southeast Asia. In: Franco, F.M. (eds) Ethnobotany of the Mountain Regions of Southeast Asia. Ethnobotany of Mountain Regions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38389-3_208
Franco, F.M., S. Sridhar & M.S. Balasubramaniam. 2011. Significance of Bio Cultural Protocols in Empowering Farming Communities. In Choudhary S.L., S.K. Khandelwal & Y.L. Nene (Eds) Proceedings of the International Conference on “Traditional Practices in Conservation Agriculture” held at Udaipur, India from 18th to 20th Sep. 2010. Asian Agri-History Foundation, Secunderabad.
Narasimhan, D., & F.M. Franco. 2009. What is traditional knowledge? Pp. 168-172 in Plant and Fungal Biodiversity and Bioprospecting. Edited by S. Krishnan and D.J. Bhat. Broadway Book centre, Goa.
News
New IAS/Springer “Asia in Transition” Volume on Biocultural Diversity in Southeast Asia
The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD) is pleased to announce the publication of the latest volume in the IAS/Springer “Asia in Transition” Series, Case Studies in Biocultural Diversity from Southeast Asia: Traditional Ecological Calendars, Folk Medicine and Folk Names edited by F. Merlin Franco (IAS), Magne Knudsen (FASS and […]
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New Article on a Kedayan Ecological Calendar
Assistant Professor F. Merlin Franco of the Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam has co-authored an article with Nurzahidah Bakar on “The Fading Popularity of a Local Ecological Calendar from Brunei Darussalam, Borneo.” Published in the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, the article describes how the ecological calendar of the Kedayan people of […]
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Seminar on Nipah Sugar in the Popular Foodways of Brunei Darussalam
Please join us at 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday 10 November 2021 for joint a seminar by Assistant Professor Merlin Franco (IAS) on “Persistence of Nipah Sugar in the Popular Foodways of Brunei Darussalam.” For more information, please see the flyer below.
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New Volume on the Ethnobotany of the Mountain Regions of Southeast Asia
The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD) is pleased to announce the publication of Ethnobotany of the Mountain Regions of Southeast Asia. Edited by Deputy Director of IAS, Assistant Professor F. Merlin Franco, and part of Springer’s “Ethnobotany of Mountain Regions” series, this volume is a compendium that discusses the […]
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Promoting Collaboration with Scholars in Latin America
Dr. Merlin Franco, Assistant Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD), recently presented a paper for the International Online Conference on Ethnobiology (Conferência Internacional Online de Etnobiologia) organized by Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa (UFPB) in Brazil. Dr. Franco’s presentation was on “Exploring opportunities […]
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New Paper on the Persistence of Gula Anau in Bruneian Foodways
F. Merlin Franco, Assistant Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD), has just published a new article on “Persistence of the Salty-Sweet Nipah Sugar in the Popular Foodways of Brunei Darussalam.” Co-authored with Nurzahidah Bakar and published in the Journal of Ethnobiology, the paper examines […]
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IAS Working Paper on Mutalism Between Humans and Palms
The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No 59: Mutualism between Humans and Palms: The Curious Case of the Palmyra Palm (Borassus flabellifer L.), and its Tapper by F. Merlin Franco, Godson Samuel, and T. Francis. Please see below for details. Abstract: Borassus […]
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New Article on Traditional Healers and Medicinal Plants in Brunei
F. Merlin Franco, Assistant Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam has recently co-authored an article on traditional healing practices and medicinal plants in the Kiudang area of Tutong District, Brunei Darussalam. Entitled “A Comparative Account of the Traditional Healing Practices and Healers and Non-healers in the Kiudang […]
Read MoreNews Coverage of F. Merlin Franco’s Research on Plant Blindness
Dr. F. Merlin Franco of the Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam discussed his research on the role that open-air markets can play in combating plant blindness on the Royal Television Brunei evening news. In his discussion, Dr. Franco reiterates points that he has made in a recently published co-authored article on the […]
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Deputy Director Franco in the News
Assistant Professor and Deputy Director of IAS Merlin Franco was featured in the Brunei News in an article about Dr. Merlin’s recent research on hornbills in Brunei. Please click here to view the article in the Brunei News.
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Franco on Hornbills in Brunei
Assistant Professor and Deputy Director of IAS Merlin Franco gave a talk on 19 August 2019 to the Brunei Nature Society on “When the Seeds Sprout, the Hornbills Hatch: Traditional Ecological Knowledge of the Ibans on the Hornbills of Brunei.” In this talk Dr. Franco shared some of the findings of a research project that […]
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Franco on Biosocial Synchrony in Indonesia
Dr. F. Merlin Franco, Assistant Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian Studies, has recently published a review of Cynthia T. Fowler’s Biosocial Synchrony on Sumba: Multispecies Relationships and Environmental Variations in Indonesia (Lexington, 2016) in the journal Ethnobiology Letters. Dr. Franco is an ethnobiologist interested in the interrelationship between human culture, language, […]
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IAS Working Paper on The Portrayal of Rainforests and People in Tourism Promotional Videos
The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No. 41: The Portrayal of Rainforests and People in Tourism Promotional Videos by Mizuki Munakata and F. Merlin Franco. Please see below for details. Abstract: Tourism promotional videos are known to play an important role in […]
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