Rajanathan Rajaratnam

Rajanathan Rajaratnam is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of New England (Australia), affiliated with the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. He holds a PhD in Zoology from the National University of Malaysia and has expertise in wildlife ecology, conservation biogeography, and sustainable resource management. His research focuses on endangered species conservation in Borneo and Bhutan, particularly involving the Kinabatangan Orang-Utan Conservation Project and collaborations with Indigenous communities.

Dr. Rajaratnam teaches courses on global environmental issues, climate change, and environmental biogeography. He is an active member of the IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas and serves on editorial boards for journals like Sustainability and Australian Geographer. His work integrates field research with community engagement, emphasizing participatory conservation strategies.

His research spans topics such as tiger conservation in Bhutan, spotted-tailed quoll habitat dynamics in Australia, and red panda distribution in the Himalayas. He co-supervises postgraduate students from Australia and Bhutan, contributing to over 50 peer-reviewed publications in journals like PLOS ONE and Conservation Biology.

Raj also collaborates with NGOs like HUTAN (France) to train Indigenous field staff in wildlife research techniques. His interdisciplinary approach bridges natural and social sciences, addressing issues such as migration impacts and environmental policy through projects with Australia’s Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.