It was indeed a privilege to have Thomas Lovejoy be a keynote speaker at the 5th International Canopy Conference, which was organised by ATREE, in Bangalore, in 2009. His keynote address was titled, ‘Educating policymakers about tropical forest conservation,’ and I quote a line from his abstract in which he said, “For policymakers, experiencing the rainforests with intact canopies first-hand is a more compelling tool for conservation than reading about it third-hand.” His message becomes particularly pertinent now, when biodiversity conservation is more urgent than ever before. Perhaps, we should heed Thomas Lovejoy's message and take our policymakers to experience our biodiversity first hand, to inspire them to conserve India's unique biodiversity. 

 

The Canopy Conference in Bangalore organised by ATREE in 2009 bought many ‘superstars’ of conservation biology but we all knew that the ‘father of biodiversity’ Thomas Lovejoy, or Tom, as he liked to be addressed as, was the Rajanikant of conservation. As a cub researcher and part of the organising committee, I had the rare privilege to have interacted with him closely, both through emails and in person. I was astounded by his humility and his high levels of enthusiasm to engage with young researchers like us, who at times didn’t even realise the naivety of our adulation laden curiosity. His plenary was inspirational, to say the least, and I particularly liked the way he could very powerfully convey some hard to digest facts in a manner that was both entertaining and engaging, which allowed us to remember such facts even though we listened to it only once. That was my early lesson in understanding the power of effective and long-lasting communication in conservation biology. The inspirational talk combined with his incredibly easy and humble personality moved me a lot, the effect of which was not dissimilar to the impact that Rajanikant could produce for his fans. Indeed, if not for the seriousness of our vocation and the unwritten rules of decorum of the IISc Tata Memorial Auditorium, where the lecture was delivered, I felt like launching myself into whistles and dances instead of the dignified clapping, as is expected at the end of a scientific plenary.

 

Dr. Thomas Lovejoy's passing is going to leave a deep, unfillable void.