BNHS gets new president

Former managing director of Tata Group and Glaxo, Homi Khusrokhan has taken over as the new president of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).

Khusrokhan’s appointment was decided at the governing council meeting of BNHS on January 7. Khusrokhan who has been BNHS vice-president since May 2009 succeeds BG Deshmukh who passed away in 2011.

Announcing the appointment, a BNHS spokesperson said that Khusrokhan, who believes in bridging the gap between nature conservation and development, feels that development should be based on the principles of social equity and environmental sustainability.

He had played a lead role in relocating a plant of Tata Chemicals in Tanzania after BNHS raised concerns about the survival of flamingos in the proposed project area. Khusrokhan has been involved in key BNHS projects such as its vulture conservation and breeding programme.

In a statement to the press, BNHS director Dr Asad Rahmani said, “Mr Khusrokhan  is the right person to steer ahead BNHS in this challenging conservation scenario. His appointment has come at a time when BNHS is gearing up for its role as the nodal NGO coordinator for the upcoming Conference of Parties in October this year.”