SNH’s Des Thompson elected as RSE Fellow

Fellows are elected in recognition of achievements within their discipline or profession after a rigorous four-stage selection process, culminating in a ballot of the entire fellowship.

Des commented: “I am delighted and honoured. This is as much a tribute to the work of my colleagues in taking forward work on biodiversity and upland conservation issues. I greatly look forward to supporting the RSE in any way I can.”

Ron Macdonald, SNH’s director of policy & advice, added: “On behalf of SNH, I warmly welcome the election of Des as a Fellow of The Royal Society of Edinburgh. The award of such a prestigious honour is testament to the esteem with which Des is held by colleagues in Scotland, the UK and abroad. Des’ enthusiasm and strong commitment to Scotland’s wildlife, in particular to raptors, is inspiring and has made a real difference on the ground.”

Des is one of a number of new UK and International Fellows joining the RSE's 1500-strong fellowship of experts in the sciences, arts, humanities, the professions, industry and commerce.

Des manages policy, research and advisory work on biodiversity and climate change, and has led some of Britain’s upland nature conservation work for the government and its agencies. From the small village of Culrain in the Highlands, he attended Tain Royal Academy, and took his first degree in Biology from Paisley College, and his PhD and DSc from the University of Nottingham (publishing his PhD as the textbook, Gulls and plovers - the ecology and behaviour of mixed species feeding groups).

Des was founder chairman of the Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme (which gave rise to Raptors: a field guide for surveys and monitoring (three editions)), and was elected Chairman of the UN Convention on Migratory Species’ Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia Technical Advisory Group. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Applied Ecology, and Chairman of the Field Studies Council.

He has specialist interests in upland and bird ecology, and collaborates widely, publishing more than 200 papers, articles and books, including Ecological Change in the Uplands; Heaths and Moorland – cultural landscapes; Tundra Plovers; Shorebirds; Birds of Prey in a Changing Environment; Mountains of Northern Europe: conservation, management, nature and people; An Illustrated Guide to British Upland Vegetation; Alpine Biodiversity in Europe; and The Changing Nature of Scotland. His latest book, co-edited with John and Hilary Birks at Bergen University, on one of the world’s foremost experts on nature and raptor conservation, Nature’s Conscience: the life and legacy of Derek Ratcliffe, will be published shortly.

Once admitted to the RSE, fellows are encouraged to contribute to the aims and objectives of the society, including providing expert policy advice to government and parliament, outreach education programmes for young people, and public engagement events, including conferences and discussion forums. The central aim of the society is the advancement of learning and knowledge.

ENDS

For more information, contact Press & PR officers Fergus MacNeill on 01463 725 021 or fergus.macneill@snh.gov.uk (Monday) or Vicki Mowat, on 0131 316 2659 or 07917 071 543 or vicki.mowat@snh.gov.uk (Tues-Fri)..