The Hindu : Front Page : IUCN award for Indian scientist

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Wednesday, Aug 20, 2008
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IUCN award for Indian scientist

P. Venugopal

Scientist S.D. Biju, the winner of this year’s Sabin Award for Amphibian Conservation.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: S.D. Biju has won the Sabin Award for Amphibian Conservation, instituted by the Amphibian Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Dr. Biju, who now leads a research group at the University of Delhi as an Associate Professor, gets it for his contributions to amphibian conservation and research in the Western Ghats over the last 15 years, University of Delhi said in a press release. The award includes $25,000.

An IUCN newsletter refers to his “extreme dedication to discovering and conserving the amphibian fauna of the rapidly vanishing Western Ghats biodiversity spot... often using his personal earnings to fund his explorations.”

The biologist-turned-amphibian researcher hails from Kadakkal in Kollam district.

Through explorations in the Western Ghats, he has documented over 850 distinct populations of amphibians. He has rediscovered rare species that were known only from century-old descriptions. He has come out with evidence for the existence of nearly 100 species that were unknown to science. His discovery and description of a frog family (Nasikabatrachidae) from the Western Ghats region four years ago was notable.

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