Jawaharlal Nehru fellowship to Dr Rajesh Gopal of Project Tiger

New Delhi, Nov 13 (UNI) Dr Rajesh Gopal, who is in charge of Project Tiger in the country, will be awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship on the occasion of 119th birth anniversary of late Prime Minister Jawahar lal Nehru tomorrow.

A member secretary and inspector general of forests, National Tiger Conservation Authority in the Environment and Forests ministry, Dr Gopal has been given the fellowship for his project, "Evaluation and Developing a mitigation strategy for maintaining meta-population structure of tigers in priority landscapes".

The study will provide a strategy to strengthen the source population of tigers in identified landscapes, apart from suggesting specific ways to restore the tiger population.

The fellowship is for a period of two years and carries a stipend of Rs 15,000 a month and a contingency grant of Rs 25,000 per annum.

So far, 145 fellowships have been awarded.

Dr Gopal joined the Indian Forest Service in 1978. His areas of interest are wildlife management and specialisation in park management, biodiversity conservation, conservation of endangered species, eco-development and ecotourism. He has authored several publications on wildlife management and conservation of forests.

He was also a member of the task force of Department of preparation of a Forestry Project for the World Bank, an official said here today.

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