Dr. Irdika Mansur is now BIOTROP’s new director.  His term of office is effective from 1 January 2015 until 31 December 2017.  He succeeded Prof. Dr. Bambang Purwantara who served as BIOTROP director from 2009 to 2014.

Before assuming his new post, Dr. Irdika served as the Centre’s Deputy Director for Resources Management (DDRM) during the incumbency of Prof. Dr. Bambang. As BIOTROP DDRM, Dr. Irdika significantly helped improve the Centre’s financial profile and its laboratory, library, and office facilities and equipments enabling the Centre to effectively and efficiently serve its clients and partners. He also expanded the Centre’s linkages with the private sector in Indonesia, particularly with the mining companies, in implementing their mine reclamation and corporate social responsibility programs in relation to biodiversity conservation and community-based livelihood generation.

Dr. Irdika is also a lecturer at the Department of Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry of the Bogor Agricultural University (IPB).  His areas of specialization include silviculture, agroforestry, mycorrhiza, and restoration ecology.  While at IPB, he also served as Manager of the Gunung Walat Education Forest from 2001 to 2002, and Head of the Forest Management Department and  Department of Silviculture of the Faculty of Forestry from 2002-2005 and 2005-2009, respectively. 

In 2000, Dr. Irdika obtained his PhD from the Department of Biosciences, University of Kent at Canterbury, United Kingdom. His various research works in mycorrhiza earned the respects of other experts in this subject matter thus electing him as the President of the Indonesian Mycorrhiae Society in 2007 until now.

Among the recent books and journal article written and co-authored by Dr. Irdika include:  (1) Forest Rehabilitation Using Anthocephalus cadamba to Facilitate Biodiversity and Increase Productivity on Ex-mine sites in Indonesia’ (2013); (2) Mycorrhiza as Biofertilizer for Crop Cultivation and Coastal Rehabilitation (2012); (3) Working with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (2012);  and  (4) ‘Integrating biodiversity conservation and agricultural production in mine reclamation for sustainable development’ published in the Journal of Developments for Sustainable Agriculture, 7: 97-102 in 2012.