Lumen Spring Summer 2023 - Flipbook - Page 30
World news
The University of Adelaide
is a top-100 University, with
strong links to alumni and
partners globally. In this new
section for Lumen, we invited
some of our family of “foreign
correspondents” to give a
brief insight into their lives
and careers.
John Scanlon AO
CEO of the Elephant Protection Initiative
Foundation
Chair, Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime
Bachelor of Laws 1983; Master of Laws
(Environmental) 1995
Australian environmental lawyer John
Scanlon is internationally recognised as a
leader and policymaker. However, his early
interest in the environment was born in
the Adelaide Hills, where his family owned
a bush block. As a child he would spend
weekends exploring and developing the
appreciation for nature that went on to fuel
his life’s work: environmental protection,
including combatting wildlife trafficking and
environmental crimes on a global scale.
“Despite the scale, nature and consequences
of wildlife trafficking, we don’t have any
international agreement on how we’re going
to prevent it and combat it,” John says.
He is calling for a new protocol under
the United Nations Convention against
Transnational Organised Crime.
“The Intergovernmental Platform on
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
anticipates we’re going to lose one million
species over the coming decades unless we
change course. Yet wildlife trafficking goes
far beyond the impacts on wildlife itself.
These crimes are estimated to cost US$1-2
trillion annually and have severe and lasting
consequences for biodiversity, climate, and
ecosystems.”
John is now based in Switzerland with his
family, but his work has seen him accept
influential positions around the world,
including as Secretary-General of the
Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora (CITES), Head of the Law Program
of the International Union for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN) and Principal Advisor to
the Executive Director of United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP).
In July this year the University of Adelaide
was delighted to host John for a public
lecture, ‘Environmental, nature and wildlife
crimes and the role of international law’, which
included a discussion about how Australia
can contribute to this important work.
The University of Adelaide is responding to
the issue and was recently awarded an ARC
Industry Laureate Fellowship. Associate
Professor Phillip Cassey, who leads the
Invasion Science and Wildlife Ecology Lab,
will direct a $3.7 million project to combat
wildlife crime and prevent environmental
harm using digital wildlife forensic tools.
“It makes you proud to be an alum of this
University, to see the kind of work that’s
going on here today,” John says.
Charudaththa Ekanayake at the
United Nations Sri Lanka
Charudaththa
Ekanayake
Risk Analyst, United Nations Sri Lanka
Bachelor of International Studies with
Honours (2015)
After he graduated from the University
of Adelaide, Charudaththa Ekanayake
studied and worked in London before
returning to Sri Lanka to forge his career
with the United Nations.
Now based in Colombo, he has had the
opportunity to use his internationallyacquired knowledge and skills to make
an impact at home within a truly global
organisation.
“It’s a dream for many students of
international relations to work at the UN,
so achieving that was quite special,”
he says.
“Working on peacebuilding and
reconciliation in a country like Sri
Lanka, which experienced a prolonged
civil conflict from 1983-2009, is quite
challenging. While the guns have long
been silent, many of the root causes
that led to the conflict in the first place
remain unaddressed and still sensitive
… the UN is often called on to act as a
mediator and as a voice for the voiceless.
However, the work is also meaningful
and rewarding, as you get to make a real
and lasting impact.”
John Scanlon taking part in an elephant relocation, Malawi
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THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
