Prime Minister Boris Johnon has picked Indian-origin Yadvinder Malhi as a member of the Natural History Museum trust for a four year term ending in May 2024.
Also picked is Harris Bokhari who was described as a social entrepreneur, public engagement advisor and chartered accountant by the government agencies. He serves as a board member of Prince’s Trust Mosaic Initiative and as an ambassador for the British Asian Trust.
While appointing both, Lord Green, the Chair of the Trustees of the Natural History Museum was quoted as saying on the Museum’s website: “Yadvinder and Harris bring to the Board an impressive spectrum of expertise from ground-breaking climate science to the championing of diversity and inclusion. I am delighted to welcome them as Trustees and look forward to working with them to steer the implementation of the Museum’s bold new strategy of creating advocates for the planet.”
The 52-year-old Yadvinder Malhi has been described as a Professor of Ecosystem Science at the University of Oxford, Jackson Senior Research Fellow in Biodiversity and Conservation at Oriel College, Oxford, and Director of the Oxford Centre for Tropical Forests and the Oxford University Biodiversity Network.
Reacting to his appointment, Malhi said, “I have been enthralled by the Natural History Museum since my first visits as a child, and I am delighted to be now joining it as a Trustee. I believe no entity in the UK better celebrates the magnificence of the natural world.”
The museum describes Malhi as someone who he has been particularly excited in helping the Museum become a leader and partner in helping address what I see as the great challenges of our time: tackling climate change and the restoration of the natural world, both within the United Kingdom and internationally. The museum brings a wealth of scientific expertise, practical experience and public reach that has so much potential to make a really significant contribution to tackling these challenges,” he said.
Malhi’s research interests have focused on the impacts of climate change and other types of change on the biosphere, and how protection and restoration of the biosphere can contribute to mitigating and adapting to climate change.Malhi also has a keen interest in the many possible forms of ecosystem restoration in the UK and Europe, how such restoration can be scaled up, and how it can best contribute to biodiversity recovery and climate change goals.
