Fellow Story
McElwee in New York Times on passing of Vietnamese environmentalist
In the early 1960s, a young ornithologist successfully persuaded Vietnam’s top leaders, including its founding president, Ho Chi Minh, to designate a tract of land near the capital as the country’s first national park.
“They listened to this guy who goes out and watches birds,” said Pamela McElwee, an associate professor at Rutgers University who is an expert on Vietnam’s environmental history. “I think that’s a sign of how significant he was.”
His name was Vo Quy, and he died on Tuesday in Hanoi at 87. Over a half-century career, Dr. Quy was known for his pioneering studies on Vietnam’s wildlife and his efforts to restore tropical habitats that had been destroyed by defoliants during the Vietnam War.