Ecologist Awarded China Friendship Award

Kazakhstan-born Dr. David Blank was recognized for research into the management of desert ecosystems and wildlife in the arid areas of Central Asia.

AsianScientist (Oct. 19, 2016) – Dr. David Blank, a Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Visiting Professor for the President’s International Fellowship Initiatives (PIFI), has been awarded the Friendship Award from the Chinese government.

Established in 1991, the Friendship Award is given to foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to China’s economic and social progress. Every year, 50 foreign experts are selected for the award.

Blank was recognized for his contribution to Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography’s (XIEG) research capability in the management of desert ecosystems and wildlife in the arid areas of Central Asia, and to scientific cooperation between China and Central Asia countries.

Blank, who was born in Kazakhstan, has worked on conservation biology of ungulates and the management of desert ecosystems at XIEG since 2010 under the CAS PIFI project. During these four years of research cooperation, 33 papers and a book, Ecological Status and Conservation of Wildlife in Central Asia, were published, co-authored with Chinese partners.

He has also translated about 30 Russian monographs into English, providing valuable materials on current wildlife resource distribution status in Central Asia. Further research on these materials will help preserve and restore wild life in this area.


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Source: Chinese Academy of Sciences; Photo: XIEG.
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