Dr Hà Thăng Long, leader of the Frankfurt Zoological Society's Việt Nam Programme, has been honoured in the ‘Applied Nature Conservation’ category of the Frankfurt Conservation Award (Bruno H. Schubert Prize). Photo courtesy of Convervation of Việt Nam

ĐÀ NẴNG — Dr Hà Thăng Long, has been honoured in the ‘Applied Nature Conservation’ category of the Frankfurt Conservation Award (Bruno H. Schubert Prize).

Dr Long has worked as a project manager at the Frankfurt Zoological Society in Việt Nam for 25 years.

Long, is also founder of the GreenViet Biodiversity Conservation Centre and one of the leading langur researchers in Việt Nam, contributing to the protection and conservation of the population of the Gray-shanked douc langur (Pygathrix cinerea), a Critically Endangered (CR) primate species only found in Việt Nam, and the Endangered red-shanked douc (Pygathrix nemaeus) in the central and central highlands region.

He has helped educate hundreds of students in biodiversity research in the region, hosting field surveys in the National Kon Ka Kinh Park in Gia Lai Province.

The Bruno H. Schubert Foundation presented three international awards, to Joji Cariño, Dr Rosie Trevelyan and Dr Hà Thăng Long, who were honoured in categories of International Award for Teaching, Research, and Applied Nature Conservation.

It said the three partner institutions of the Bruno H. Schubert Foundation – the Goethe University Frankfurt, the Frankfurt Zoological Society, and the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung (Senckenberg Society for Nature Research) – picked the recipients in recognition of their achievements in protecting biodiversity in research and teaching, as well as in applied nature conservation and environmental protection.

The Frankfurt Conservation Award is endowed with a total of 45,000 euros in prize money to be shared between the three leading scientists.

Biologist Hà Thăng Long leads a field trip for students in the National Kon Ka Kinh Park in the Central Highlands Gia Lai Province. VNS Photo Công Thành

The reserve where the Vietnamese doctor works represents a significant milestone in nature conservation in the country and makes a major contribution toward preserving Việt Nam’s unique biodiversity.

Long’s work has not only contributed to the creation of the protected area, but has also initiated numerous nature conservation projects in the country, thereby making a lasting impact on the development of Vietnamese nature conservation, according to the foundation.

“We are proud to honour these outstanding individuals, whose commitment inspires across borders and calls future generations to action,” said Gabriele Eick, chairwoman of the Board of the Bruno H. Schubert Foundation

“For more than four decades, the Bruno H. Schubert Prize has recognised individuals who have made extraordinary contributions toward the protection of biodiversity on a global scale.”

Eick added: “This year’s award ceremony, now in its 33rd year, not only marks an impressive consistency, but also once again underlines the international relevance of our cause. Our award winners come from all over the world – they work in very different cultural, political, and ecological contexts, but with a common goal: the preservation of our natural resources, the basis of our lives.

"Names such as Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, Loki Schmidt, John and Terese Hart, and Klaus Töpfer exemplify the excellence and diversity of this commitment. As a foundation, we are proud to award this prize to personalities whose work radiates far beyond national borders, thus also sending a strong signal for international cooperation to protect nature.”

Long, 49, said raising awareness about the importance of biodiversity in national parks and nature reserves would be a good way for Việt Nam to stay on course in its goal of protecting nature and wildlife.

“People will gradually understand the importance of nature and wildlife protection through education," he said.

In 2009, the Frankfurt Zoological Society started training courses of the Việt Nam Primate Conservation Programme, through which it financed research on biodiversity and langurs by Đà Nẵng University of Science and Education.