Dr. William Robichaud has received the 2015 Harry Messel Award for Conservation Leadership of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for his extraordinary leadership in raising global attention for the conservation of the saola in Vietnam.

Dr. Robichaud is one of the two conservationists who work in Asia who won the award. 

Robichaud is the founding coordinator of the Saola Working Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC). He has been working on wildlife conservation and research in Southeast Asia for around 25 years. 

He received the prize in recognition of his extraordinary leadership in raising global attention for the conservation of the saola through the Saola Working Group, and for building a dedicated network of scientists and practitioners in Vietnam and Laos focused on saving this iconic species.

The other awardees are: Dr. Goutam Narayan who works in Assam, India, Elham Abtin, from the SSC Crocodile Specialist Group; Cathy Dean of the SSC African Rhino Specialist Group; Quentin Luke of the SSC East African Plant Red List Authority; Dr. Mijoro Rakotoarinivo of the SSC Madagascar Plant and Palm Specialist Groups; and the IUCN Global Fungal Red List Initiative, in particular members Anders Dahlberg and Greg Mueller.

Since it was established in 2004, the Harry Messel Award has been given to 18 individuals. The award is named for Professor Harry Messel, the former long-standing Chair of the SSC Crocodile Specialist Group. 

The prize recognizes exemplary service to the SSC, especially from individuals who have made a specific contribution to species conservation on the ground or through their leadership, as part of the work of an SSC Specialist Group or Task Force.
Source: vietnamnet.vn