On International Biodiversity Day 2025, Jindal School of Environment and Sustainability (JSES) announced the establishment of the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC). This initiative underscores JSES’s commitment to advancing research, education, and policy engagement in biodiversity conservation—a mission more critical than ever in the face of global ecological challenges. The CBC will serve as a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together experts from ecology, environmental science, policy, and community engagement to address pressing biodiversity issues. CBC’s vision is to foster innovative research, promote sustainable practices, and contribute meaningfully to global conservation efforts.

Key objectives of the CBC:

• To serve primarily as a research centre for research in the field of biodiversity, conservation, invasive species management, ecology, and evolution.
• To collect baseline data on biodiversity, threats to biodiversity, conservation status, and sustainable resource management. This will include field visits to the different biodiverse areas and collecting data on species occurrence across different taxonomic groups and their conservation status.
• To promote scientific research on the impact and management of invasive species. 
• To examine the effectiveness of Protected Area networks in the conservation of species.
• To examine the impact of climate change on the ecology and behavior of species.
• To organize seminars, workshops, and training programs to promote awareness of biodiversity and conservation-related issues.
• To support policy development by providing evidence-based recommendations.
• To foster community participation in conservation initiatives.
• To enhance collaboration among researchers, policymakers, NGOs, and local communities for effective biodiversity conservation.
• To provide internships to students who want to undertake research in biodiversity and conservation-related fields.
• To provide a platform for the exchange of novel ideas related to the management and conservation of biodiversity. 

The CBC will be led by Dr. Kumar Manish (Associate Professor and Associate Dean – Academic Affairs and Admissions and Outreach). Dr. Manish specializes in Biodiversity, Ecology & Evolution, Conservation Biology, and Environmental Modelling. To date, he has published 27 research articles that have received over 900 citations as per the Scopus database, and he has been listed as one of the 2% most cited authors by Stanford-Elsevier two times in a row. Some of his works have been published in high-impact journals like Journal of Biogeography, Biological Conservation, Environment and Sustainability Indicators, Ecological Informatics, Ecological Processes, BioScience, and Environmental Management. 

JSES extends its gratitude to the founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University and a visionary leader, Prof. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, and the Registrar, Prof. (Dr.) Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik, for their constant support and cooperation. The school acknowledges the positive ‘nudging’ by Prof. Padmanabha Ramanujam, Dean, Academic Governance & Student Life, JGU, encouraging JSES to establish research centres that enhance our visibility among the top global institutions in the domain of Environment & Sustainable Development. Last but not least, a special thanks is extended to Justice Michael D. Wilson, former Associate Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, who has consistently emphasized the need for JSES to focus its research on Biodiversity and Conservation. This is especially relevant given that India is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world and home to the largest population of the Royal Bengal Tiger.

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