Guwahati, Oct 25: Assam’s eminent conservation scientist Bibhab Kumar Talukdar was awarded ‘The Harry Messel Award’ for Conservation Leadership by the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on Friday, a release said.
The award was presented to him during the ongoing 5th IUCN SSC Leaders’ Meeting in Abu Dhabi, where around 300 conservation experts have gathered to address the intertwined crises of biodiversity and climate change.
Talukdar was recognised for his significant contributions to species conservation, particularly through his leadership in the SSC and his work on the Indian one-horned rhinoceros. Talukdar has been affiliated with the IUCN SSC since 1991 and became the Chair of the Asian Rhino Specialist Group in 2008, a notable achievement among Assamese conservationists.
He is also the founding Secretary General and CEO of Aaranyak, North East India’s leading research-driven biodiversity conservation organisation. In addition to his role with the IUCN, he has been invited by Indonesian conservation agencies to assist in the management of critically endangered Javan and Sumatran rhinos.
Talukdar has also supported the Assam government in implementing the Indian Rhino Vision 2020, which involved translocating 22 wild rhinos from Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Kaziranga National Park to Manas National Park between 2008 and 2022, the release stated.(PTI)
