Dr Rajanathan Rajaratnam

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).