Bionomics in the Dragon Kingdom

The three authors have tremendous Bhutanese experience: Dr. Tshewang is Bhutanese and lives in Thimphu. He grew up in the eastern province of Pemagatshel and was the first PhD from Bhutan's Ministry of Agriculture, dealing specifically in the ecodynamics affecting livestock and populations. He went on to become the highest ecological official in the Bhutanese government, founding the National Biodiversity Centre, the country's National Gene Bank and the National Herbarium. Dr. Tshewang was Governor of the nation's eastern-most province, Trashiyangtse, as well as being the Secretary of the National Environment Commission. He led the task force representing multiple stakeholders to develop the Biodiversity Act of Bhutan while leading the National Biodiversity Center of Bhutan. Dr. Tobias led one of the very first outside expeditions to Bhutan in the mid-1970s and has been returning ever since. In 2007 he led a 140-kilometer ecological survey of the most recently consecrated scientific reserve in the country's far-east, Sakten(g). Highly respected global ecologists, Dr. Tobias, and his partner, Jane Gray Morrison have for nearly 20 years run the Dancing Star Foundation -DSF (www.dancingstarfoundation.org; www.dancingstarnews.com) which is devoted to international conservation biology, animal protection and environmental education. DSF was a major donor for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2008 in Washington D.C., - following upon Dr. Tshewang's proposal to the Royal Government of Bhutan that Bhutan be part of that festival. The event succeeded in bringing nearly 150 Bhutanese for ten days to the National Mall in Washington where, among other things, in conjunction with NASA, a Bhutanese monk (and Director of Bhutan's National Museum) had a discussion with an astronaut on inner and outer space. Tobias and Morrison have authored, co-authored and edited over 50 books between them.