Dr Rajanathan Rajaratnam

Senior Lecturer - Faculty of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences and Education; School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Rajanathan Rajaratnam

Phone: +61 2 6773 3435

Email: rrajarat@une.edu.au

Biography

Raj has a Bachelor in Science with Honours from the National Science University of Malaysia, a Master of Science from the University of Florida, and Doctorate in Zoology from the National University of Malaysia. He was formerly researching small carnivores, primates, and small mammals in Borneo as a wildlife ecologist with World Wildlife Fund Malaysia, prior to joining UNE as an academic in 2007. He has co-supervised or is currently co-supervising postgraduates from Bhutan and Australia in the fields of wildlife ecology and management, biogeography, and sustainable resource management. These research has led to co-authored publications in internationally reputable peer-reviewed journals such as Plos One, Conservation Biology, Biological Conservation, Wildlife Research, Frontiers in Environmental Science, Oryx, and Biodiversity and Conservation.

Raj teaches undergraduate and postgraduate environmental subjects in the Department of Geography and Planning, focused on global environmental Issues, global climate change, and environmental biogeography. He believes in research-led teaching with a pedagogy of active engagement to stimulate critical thinking.  Professionally, Raj is a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s World Commission on Protected Areas as well as its Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group, a member of the International Biogeography Society, Topic Editor for the international journal Sustainability, and an Editorial Board Member for the Australian Geographer (Journal of the Geographical Society of New South Wales).

Qualifications

B.Sc (Hons)(Malaysia), M.S. (Florida), PhD (Malaysia)

Teaching Areas

GEPL111 Earth in Crises? (Coordinator)
GEPL112 Where in the World? Australia's Human Geography
GEPL322 Cradle to Grave - Population Geography
GEPL338/538 Research Methods
GEPL307 Climate Change and Future Planning
GEPL341/541 Environmental Biogeography (Coordinator)

Supervision Areas

Wildlife ecology, conservation biogeography for wildlife management and sustainable natural resource use by indigenous people.

Primary Research Area/s

Biogeography; Wildlife ecology and management; Biodiversity conservation

Research Interests

Raj has active ongoing collaborative research in Malaysian North Borneo particularly in the areas of wildlife ecology, conservation biogeography for wildlife management and sustainable natural resource use by indigenous people.

His main research focus encompassing the above areas is in the Kinabatangan Orang-Utan Conservation Project which is run by a French NGO called HUTAN.

Raj is also involved with capacity building for indigenous field staff of HUTAN particularly in wildlife field research techniques for conservation management.

He also has some experience in human geography research being a member of a research team with Professor Jim Walmsley and Dr. Fran Rolley, through UNE's Centre for Applied Research in Social Science, which conducted research into the social costs and benefits of migration as part of a research consultancy with Australia's Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.

Publications

Rajaratnam, R., Pang, C. & Ancrenaz, L. (2008). Ecotourism and indigenous communities: The lower Kinabatangan experience. Chapter 13 in Rugendyke, B & Connell, J (eds.). Tourism at the Grass Roots: Villagers and Visitors in the Asia Pacific. Routledge, Abington and New York.

Rajaratnam, R., Sunquist, M, Rajaratnam, L & Ambu, L. 2007. Diet and habitat selection of the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis borneoensis) in an agricultural landscape in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Journal of Tropical Ecology 23: 209-217.

Walmsley, J., McIntosh, A. & Rajaratnam, R. 2007. Natural Capital. pp 98 – 104 in K. Carrington, A. McIntosh & J. Walmsley (eds). The Social Costs and Benefits of Migration into Australia. Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Canberra.

Walmsley, J., McIntosh, A. & Rajaratnam, R. 2007. Produced and Financial Capital – Productive Diversity. pp 81 – 97 in K. Carrington, A. McIntosh & J. Walmsley (eds). The Social Costs and Benefits of Migration into Australia. Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Canberra.

Walmsley, J., Rolley, F., Rajaratnam, R. & McIntosh, A. 2007. Settlement Patterns and Experiences. pp 8 – 24 in K. Carrington, A. McIntosh & J. Walmsley (eds). The Social Costs and Benefits of Migration into Australia. Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Canberra.

Bittman, M., Brown, J., McIntosh, A., Rolley, F., Rajaratnam, R. & Walmsley, J. 2007. Human Capital. pp 25 – 47 in K. Carrington, A. McIntosh & J. Walmsley (eds). The Social Costs and Benefits of Migration into Australia. Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Canberra.

Walmsley, J., McIntosh, A., Carrington, K., Bittman, M., Rolley, F. & Rajaratnam, R. 2007. Social Capital. pp 48 – 80 in K. Carrington, A. McIntosh & J. Walmsley (eds). The Social Costs and Benefits of Migration into Australia. Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Canberra.

Memberships

Affiliations and Memberships

  • Member of IUCN's (World Conservation Union) World Commission on Parks and Protected Areas.
  • Member of the Ecological Society of Australia
  • Member of the Australian Institute of Geographers Inc.
  • Member of UNE's Paleo Group (Holocene Sea Level Research).