Honoring Prof. Dr. Thomas Ziegler for outstanding contributions to biodiversity conservation in Vietnam
Attending the ceremony were Prof. Dr. Tran Tuan Anh, Vice President of VAST; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tung, Deputy Head of the Organization - Personnel and Inspection Department; Deputy Directors of the Institute of Biology: Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huy Hoang, Dr. Le Hung Anh, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Truong, along with students and research staff of the Institute of Biology.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Ziegler began his association with Vietnam in 1997 when he completed his doctoral thesis on the fauna of Ha Tinh province. Since then, he has returned to Vietnam regularly, carrying out a series of research and conservation activities in many localities. He is one of the leading experts on reptiles and amphibians in Europe, with more than 615 published scientific works. Over the past two decades, he and his colleagues have discovered and published more than 120 new animal species to science, mostly in Vietnam and Laos - a great contribution to knowledge about biodiversity in the Indochina region.
Not only a scientist, Prof. Dr. Ziegler is also the person who connects international conservation organizations with Vietnam. He is an active member of organizations such as IUCN, EAZA, WAZA, and has strongly supported Vietnam in building World Natural Heritage dossiers for Phong Nha - Ke Bang, Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba; as well as putting many rare animal species into the IUCN Red List and CITES appendix.
He played an important role in projects to build wildlife rescue and conservation centers in Phong Nha - Ke Bang, Me Linh Biodiversity Station (Vinh Phuc), Dau Tieng Center (Binh Duong), Hanoi Zoo and Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden. In particular, the program "Amazing Vietnam" (Vietnamazing 2024-2025) initiated by him has attracted active support from European zoos for conservation work in Vietnam.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Ziegler has made many contributions to postgraduate training at the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources in the period 2017-2020. He directly participated in teaching, guiding doctoral students and supporting many Vietnamese scientists to complete their doctoral theses. Since 2008, he has brought many students and researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Cologne to Vietnam for research, and at the same time supported dozens of Vietnamese officials to access the international academic environment.
With the above contributions, the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (now the Institute of Biology) has prepared a proposal and the President of VAST decided to award the Commemorative Medal to Prof. Dr. Thomas Ziegler on May 28, 2025.
This is not only a worthy reward for a dedicated international scientist, but also an affirmation of the spirit of sustainable and effective cooperation between Vietnam and Germany in the field of biodiversity research and conservation.
Translated by Quoc Khanh
Link to Vietnamese version
