Lavkumar Jiva Khachar or K.S. Lavkumar (24 February 1930 – 2 March 2015) was an

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

, nature and wildlife conservationist from India.

Biography

Khachar was born on 24 February 1930 in the royal family of the former princely state of Jasdan, Gujarat, India. He was educated at

Rajkumar College, Rajkot The Rajkumar College (or RKC) in Rajkot, Gujarat is one of the oldest K-12 institutions in India. RKC has a 28.656-acre (1,15,965 m²) campus in Rajkot. The foundation stone of Rajkumar College was laid in 1868. The institution was designed by ...

and completed his B.Sc. from St. Stephen's College, Delhi. He later taught biology and geography at Rajkumar College in 1956.

Career

His involvement in

ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

began in the 1950s and was associated with other ornithologists like

Salim Ali Sálim Moizuddin Abdul Ali (12 November 1896 – 20 June 1987) was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist. Sometimes referred to as the "Birdman of India", Salim Ali was the first Indian to conduct systematic bird surveys across India and wrot ...

Humayun Abdulali Humayun Abdulali (19 May 1914, Kobe, Japan - 3 June 2001, Mumbai, India) was an Indian ornithologist and biologist who was also a cousin of the "birdman of India", Salim Ali (ornithologist), Salim Ali. Like other naturalists of his period, he to ...

and

Zafar Futehally Zafar Rashid Futehally (19 March 1920 – 11 August 2013) was an Indian naturalist and conservationist best known for his work as the secretary of the Bombay Natural History Society and for the ''Newsletter for Birdwatchers'' a periodical that ...

. He was closely associated with

Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants and publ ...

(BNHS) and

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

(WWF) India. He was funded by WWF to conceive and initiated the nature education movement in 1976. He also served as director of the Nature Discovery Centre at the

Centre for Environment Education Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

(CEE) in 1984. He advocated and worked in the creation of

Marine National Park A marine park is a designated park consisting of an area of sea (or lake) set aside to achieve ecological sustainability, promote marine awareness and understanding, enable marine recreational activities, and provide benefits for Indigenous peop ...

Gulf of Kutch The Gulf of Kutch is located between the peninsula regions of Kutch and Saurashtra, bounded in the state of Gujarat that borders Pakistan. It opens towards the Arabian Sea facing the Gulf of Oman. It is about 50 km wide at the entrance b ...

, the first marine national park in India. He was involved in wildlife conservation of Gir Forest also. He worked for education and involvement of youth in nature conservation. He was the founder of the Hingolgadh Nature Conservation Education Sanctuary created by Jasdan royal family. He was a member of Delhi Bird Club. He died on 2 March 2015 at

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...

, Gujarat, India. He was married and had a son and a daughter.

Recognition

He was awarded the Salim Ali –

Loke Wan Tho Malay titles, Tan Sri Loke Wan Tho (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Lu̍k Yun-thàu''; 14 June 1915 - 20 June 1964) was a Malaysian business magnate, ornithologist, and photographer. He was the founder of Cathay Organisation in Singapore and Malaysia a ...

Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Ornithology for his contribution in the field of conservation of birds and their habitat. He also received Certificate of Merit from His Royal Highness Prince Philip. He was also awarded Venu Menon Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khachar, Lavkumar Indian ornithologists 1931 births 2015 deaths People from Rajkot district Deaths from prostate cancer in India Indian naturalists Indian conservationists St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni Scientists from Gujarat 20th-century Indian zoologists Members of the Bombay Natural History Society