Gon will be sharing his passion on ecology and conservation on Nov 9.
KUCHING: Nature Conservancy of Hawaii senior scientist and cultural advisor Dr Sam ‘Ohu Gon will be sharing his passion on ecology and conservation at the Museum Cafe here at 6.30pm on Nov 9.
According to a press statement, Gon, 57, is the youngest individual to be named one of the ‘Living Treasures of Hawaii™’ – a programme in Hawaii which recognises and honours individuals who demonstrated excellence and high achievement in their field.
He was recognised as a living treasure for more than 30 years of experience in Hawaiian ecology including biological inventories and research, field ecology, entomology, arachnology, ethnology, natural community classification, ecology modelling and biological database management.
His two-year compilation of a comprehensive biological inventory on the state’s natural area reserves was unprecedented. Gon’s knowledge of Hawaiian culture, history and language is as extensive as his knowledge of biology.
A graduate of McKinley High School, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Zoology from the University of Hawaii, Mânoa in 1978 and his Master of Arts (MA) and PhD in Animal Behaviour from the University of California, Davis in 1985.
Gon was previously director of Science and coordinator for the Hawaii Nature Heritage Programme.
He served two terms on the Board of Land and Natural Resources from 2006 to 2014.
He is an affiliate faculty member at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawaii in Mânoa.
Gon’s talk entitled ‘Balancing economic development and environmental conservation through a community-based approach’ will see him share his experiences and passion with the public. The talk is organised by Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) in partnership with the US Embassy in Malaysia and Wildlife Conservation Society Malaysia Programme (WCS Malaysia).
For more information or to register for the talk, call Constance (082-610610) or email [email protected].