Top award nomination for Durrell man

Monday 13 January 2014

A Durrell conservation biologist has been nominated for the 2014 Indianapolis Prize – one of the top honours in the conservation world.

Professor Carl Jones MBE, who has been working with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust since 1985, has been nominated for the US$250,000 prize, which is awarded every two years by an international jury.

The prize goes to individuals who have made ‘extraordinary contributions to conservation efforts involving a single animal species or multiple species’.

Professor Jones is an International Conservation Fellow at Durrell who worked with Gerald Durrell in 1979 to establish a wildlife sanctuary on the Mascarene Islands off Madagascar and has rescued five species of bird which had dwindled down to less than 12 individuals.

He is best known for his work with the Mauritius Kestrel, which he helped take from just four individuals in 1974 to an estimated 1,000 in 2005.

Professor Jones said, who was also nominated for the award in 2012, said: “If we are to slow the rate of species loss globally we need to inspire a new generation of conservation leaders willing to roll up their sleeves and get out into the field to find out exactly what is driving particular populations into decline and act fast to reverse the trend. 

“I see establishment of Durrell Conservation Academy in Mauritius as a significant legacy for our work in the Mascarene islands and a deeply-held dream of mine for many years."