I was born in Lae, Papua New Guinea, and have particular expertise and interest in the development arena and customary land ownership issues. I also have experience in Native Title, the politics of Deep Sea Mining, Tourism, and World Heritage issues.

My Phd research involved a social and historical analysis of the largest tropical timber corporation globally.  The RimbunanHijau Group of Malaysia is a heavily diversified, multi-industry conglomerate with economic interests in every continent of the world. The thesis examines the clustered and globalised aspects of identity and power which circulate in an out of the realm of the economy through the corporation. 

I am currently the Research Coordinator of a multi-disciplinary ARC Linkage research project examining the cultural values of the Nakanai Ranges tentative world heritage area in East New Britain (PNG). A significant output from my role on this ARC project is the procurement of funding from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the Jacquinot Bay Conservation Group (Community Based Organization) to document local knowledge of sustainable food production practices.

Our community engagement has also directly contributed to the heritage preservation of a cave art site of cultural and national significance. In November 2017, the Marana Kepate Cave Art Site was approved for PNG National Cultural Property Listing. Marana Kapate Cave, which has rare cave art etchings in limestone is afforded the highest level of protection through the enactment of National Cultural Property. 

Teaching

• AN3006: Anthropology and Development: Critical Perspectives on Globalisation and Inequality (Level 3; CNS & TSV)
• AN5006: Asia Pacific Development: Culture and Globalisation (Level 5; CNS & TSV)

Experience

• 2018 to present - Project Manager - The Twinning Project, The Cairns Institute (Cairns)
• 2017 to 2020 - Research Fellow, The Cairns Institute (Cairns)
• 2017 to 2020 - Adjunct Research Associate, College of Arts, Society and Education (Cairns)
• 2014 to 2018 - Research Coordinator - The Nakanai Caves Cultural Values Project, College of Arts, Society and Education (Cairns)
• 2017 - Chief Investigator - Native Title Workshops for Mid-Career Anthropologists, The Cairns Institute (Cairns)
• 2017 - Sessional Lecturer - - ‘Arts Edge’ - BA Capstone, College of Arts, Society and Education (Cairns)
• 2011 to 2017 - Project Manager / Casual Research Officer, The Cairns Institute (Cairns)
• 2006 to 2017 - Sessional Tutor, College of Arts, Society and Education (Cairns)
• 2015 to 2016 - Research Consultancy on Deep Sea Mining in PNG, College of Arts, Society and Education (Cairns)
• 2015 - Sessional Lecturer - Anthropology: Cultural Diversity in Global Perspective’, College of Arts, Society and Education (Cairns)
• 2014 to 2015 - Sessional Lecturer - ‘Critical Literacy’, School of Indigenous Studies (Cairns)
• 2014 to 2015 - Sessional Lecturer - Introduction to Academic Learning’, School of Indigenous Studies (Cairns)
• 2014 to 2015 - Research Consultancy - Desktop Reivew of PNGs Seven Tentative World Heritage Sites, UNESCO / PNG Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (Cairns)
• 2009 - Consultant Anthropologist, North Queensland Land Council (Cairns)
• 2007 - Casual Research Officer, Marine and Tropical Research Facility (Cairns)
• 2006 - Consultant Anthropologist, North Queensland Land Council (Cairns)

Research Disciplines

• Anthropology (1601)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Environmental Policy, Legislation and Standards (9607)
• Heritage (9503)
• Cultural Understanding (9599)

Awards

• 2016 - Sessional Staff Teaching Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
• 2014 - Jeffrey Clarke Prize in Anthropology

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU.

Journal Articles

• Filer C and Gabriel J (in press) How could Nautilus Minerals get a social licence to operate the world's first deep sea mine? Marine Policy, pp. 1-7
• Gabriel J (2017) Cosmopolitan tourism and host-guest exchanges in the Nakanai Range, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Asian Journal of Tourism Research, 2 (3). pp. 51-79
• Gabriel J, Filer C, Wood M and Foale S (2017) Tourist initiatives and extreme wilderness in the Nakanai Mountains (PNG). Shima, 11 (1). pp. 122-143
• Gabriel J and Wood M (2015) The Rimbunan Hijau Group in the forests of Papua New Guinea. Journal of Pacific History, 50 (3). pp. 322-343
• Nelson P, Gabriel J, Filer C, Banabas M, Sayer J, Curry G, Koczberski G and Venter O (2014) Oil palm and deforestation in Papua New Guinea. Conservation Letters, 7 (3). pp. 188-195

Book Chapters

• Gabriel J, Nelson P, Filer C and Wood M (2017) Oil palm development and large-scale land acquisitions in Papua New Guinea. In: Kastom, Property and Ideology: land transformations in Melanesia. Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia, pp. 205-250
• Gabriel J (2015) 'Evergreen' and REDD+ in the forests of Oceania. In: Tropical forests of Oceania: anthropological perspectives. Asia-Pacific Environment, Monograph 10. ANU Press, Acton, ACT, Australia, pp. 237-263

Other research outputs

• Gabriel J and Gorecki P (2014) The 'Karawari Caves Precinct' of the Sepik River Basin, Papua New Guinea. [monograph]
• Gabriel J (2007) Cooperative Conservation: beyond the rhetoric. [monograph]

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.