Kuenzang Dorji’s lifelong passion for wildlife, fostered since childhood, set the stage for his distinguished career in conservation. His professional journey began as a park ranger at Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park under the Royal Government of Bhutan. In this role, he was tasked with wildlife protection, forest management and law enforcement. A keen interest in conservation research started with the endangered Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), and he holds the distinction of having been the first Bhutanese biologist to photograph this majestic animal in the wild with camera trap technology. Witnessing the challenges of subsistence farmers sharing the landscape with Gee’s golden langur, Kuenzang Dorji has dedicated most of his two decades of conservation work to this field. He was recognized in May 2024 by the Whitley Fund for Nature for these efforts to protect the endangered golden langur and help address human-wildlife conflict in the country. The Whitley Awards, also known as the “Green Oscars,” are prestigious prizes honoring grassroots conservation leaders of the Global South. Bhutan, along with a small region in western Assam, India, is the last remaining home of Gee’s golden langur. Despite Bhutan’s constitution mandating the protection of at least 60% forest cover, economic expansion — such as for hydropower projects, road construction and housing development — has forced many of the country’s 2,500 golden langurs into closer contact with humans. Traditionally viewed positively in this small, landlocked country of about 800,000 people, the golden langur is now seen as a crop raider by…This article was originally published on Mongabay
The post ‘A harmonious human-primate society’: Interview with Whitley winner Kuenzang Dorji first appeared on EnviroLink Network.