BANGALORE: Prof Raman Sukumar, Chairman of the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, has been awarded the 2006 International Cosmos Prize in recognition of his achievements in the fields of ecology and conservation biology in the Western Ghats.
In particular, his research on ecological relationship between humans and elephants and the resolution of conflicts between them has been recognised as pioneering work regarding coexistence of wildlife and humans, according to a statement from the Asian Nature Conservation Foundation, Bangalore.
Dr Sukumar, who is also the Managing Trustee of the Foundation, is the 14th recipient of the award.
The previous recipients of the award include Sri Ghillean Prance (1983), Dr George B Schaller (1996) Dr Richard Dawkins (1997), Sri David Attenborough (2000), Dr Peter H Raven (2003) and Dr Daniel Pauly (2005).
In its award citation, the committee said that Dr. Sukumar has expanded certain fields of research through the work he has done such as explaining how past climate changes formed vegetation patterns in the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills and predicting how future climate changes will impact the region's animal and plant ecology."
“It is indeed a great honour to be a recipient of the International Cosmos Prize. This is not only a personal honour but also recognition of the work of Indian conservation biologists,” Sukumar said.
