“It was an superior feeling,” says Sanjay Molur, a trailblazer in conservation, about receiving the Distinguished Service Award. He’s simply again from Australia after being awarded throughout the Worldwide Convention for Conservation Biology in Brisbane/Meanjin.
The award, instituted by the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB), recognises work of people and organisations within the discipline of conservation, selling science and social points, and Molur’s recognition comes as a second of delight for conservationists throughout the globe. “It brings feelings of the previous 30 plus years of service, typically behind the scenes with out a lot recognition. The truth that my work and I have been recognised by the worldwide committee actually bought me emotional and introduced again all of the recollections of getting labored with conservationist Sally Walker, whom I devoted the award to; for it was her dedication, steadfast drive, motivation, and mentorship that made me the individual I’m at the moment,” he says.
For over three many years, Molur has performed a vital function within the safety of lesser-known and threatened species, formed worldwide conservation tips and led main world assessments for amphibians, reptiles, primates, and freshwater species. He has been a relentless help for numerous researchers, conservationists, and coverage makers at nationwide and worldwide ranges.
He’s the manager director of Coimbatore-based Zoo Outreach Organisation (ZOO), that’s a part of a number of initiatives corresponding to human-wildlife coexistence, and month-to-month open entry publications corresponding to Zoo’s Print and Journal of Threatened Taxa, a beacon to the world of conservation popping out of Coimbatore for the final 40 years apart from coaching and constructing capability in taxonomy, discipline methods, and conservation, for kids and skilled biologists from throughout.
Sanjay Molur throughout digicam trapping coaching and organising
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association
His journey as a conservationist, Molur says, has been an exhilarating one with extra harmful curves than a roller-coaster journey. “The great thing about hindsight is to relish these moments of celebration, pleasure, pleasure, and achievement, and pay attention to dejection, horror, dismay, sorrow, and betrayal, all of which performed a vital function in my evolution as a conservationist.” Other than engaged on primary points of taxonomy, surveys, inventories, pure historical past, encouraging and constructing capability in kids to take up conservation as a profession, he has been concerned with a number of on-the-ground conservation actions for particular person and a number of species and ecosystems. A number of the ongoing ones embody these on native species restoration within the western Himalayas, shark and ray conservation in Tamil Nadu and Kerala coasts, and freshwater biodiversity conservation within the Western Ghats.
“My involvement within the growth of the IUCN Purple Listing tips and the Conservation Translocation tips on the world degree have had a number of impacts around the globe. The journey of species assessments has been probably the most thrilling, path-breaking, and constant utility of rules of conservation biology for over three many years. It has contributed to the promotion of conservation of species and habitats throughout India, South Asia, and the world. Being an integral a part of that motion offers me an awesome sense of feat and delight and to herald extra modern methods of addressing challenges.”
The award-winning conservation biologist along with his staff
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association
He attracts consideration to his work on distribution and standing of tarantulas in India which he’s been engaged on since 1999. “The research stuffed large gaps of information which finally helped of their standing assessments final 12 months. We introduced a few of the extra traded ones onto the safety schedules of the Wildlife Safety Act in 2022. The second instance is of sea cucumbers, that are closely traded from India internationally and have been retained on the Wildlife Safety Act. It’s slowly making a distinction in peoples’ understanding that conserving the sea cucumbers and different fauna and flora like seahorses, seagrasses, and seaweeds is a greater livelihood possibility for locals than overexploiting the species at the price of their survival.”
He sees hope within the youthful era desirous to take up conservation as their discipline of curiosity and even profession. “Whereas quite a bit are enamored by wildlife, there’s a rising quantity all for figuring out the tough realities additionally, which makes it definitely worth the whereas for folks like me to take a position time in up skilling younger conservationists.” Youngsters, he says, can shadow conservationists from native organisations, studying from their day by day works. They will get into studying a wide selection of topics associated to nature, historical past, atmosphere, ecology, genetics, evolution, pure historical past, zoos and botanical gardens, geography, politics, civics, and different associated subjects. “They will write to us at zooreach@zooreach.org indicating their identify, age, areas of curiosity, and what they want to take action that they are often enrolled in our new initiative ‘ConZervation’, which is for gen Z+.”
His recommendation to anybody all for conservation is to start out native species and the threats they face, particularly from people. “Determine these native species and should you need assistance contact us within the above e mail,” he says, including, “At all times keep in mind, good intent ought to at all times be backed by science in order that it results in good content material.”
Molur runs an Superior Coaching in Conservation Course for 21 to 35 12 months olds which is open to anybody from any discipline or background. Purposes shut on July 12.Go to rhatc.zooreach.org
Revealed – July 14, 2025 04:05 pm IST
