Founder of the KuzeyDoğa Association and a faculty member at Koç University in Türkiye and the University of Utah in the U.S., biologist Prof. Dr. Çağan Şekercioğlu has been nominated for the 2027 Indianapolis Prize.
Turkish biologist Çağan Şekercioğlu has been nominated for the 2027 Indianapolis Prize in recognition of his nearly 25 years of wildlife protection work in eastern Türkiye.
Şekercioğlu, founder of the KuzeyDoğa Association and a faculty member at Koç University in Türkiye and the University of Utah in the United States, is among 27 nominees for the biennial award established in 2004 by Indianapolis Zoo.
The zoo highlighted his team’s efforts to protect wetlands and wildlife corridors in eastern Anatolia, including the establishment of Türkiye’s first wildlife corridor for large carnivores and the protection of approximately 283 square kilometers of forest.
Şekercioğlu said he shared the honor with his team, local communities and Türkiye. He said his work had produced more than 250 scientific publications and over 28,500 citations, emphasizing that these achievements reflected collective efforts.
He also called for stronger conservation measures alongside climate action at the upcoming COP31 climate summit, expressing hope that the Aras River Bird Paradise in Iğdır, where he has documented 318 bird species since discovering the site in 2005, would receive official protected status.
The award winner will be announced at a ceremony on Sept. 25, 2027.
