Pakistani researcher Bilal Mustafa has received the Young Researcher of the Year Opinion Award from the International Council for Conservation of Game and Wildlife (CIC), one of Europe’s oldest hunting and wildlife conservation organisations.

According to Mustafa, he is the first Pakistani to receive the award. The recognition was conferred on the basis of his ongoing research, selected from submissions received from around the world.

His research examines the impacts of trophy hunting on mountain carnivores, ungulates and the local communities living in and around the Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan.

Mustafa is currently pursuing a PhD at Tarleton State University in Texas, United States, with co-supervision from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Speaking about the achievement, Mustafa said the award was a recognition of his research and an important milestone for Pakistan’s contribution to wildlife conservation science. He expressed hope that the recognition would encourage further research and international collaboration in the field of biodiversity conservation.