On February 27, 2018, Dr. Shashi Kant was awarded the Order of Ontario, the province's highest honour. The Order is bequeathed by the Lieutenant Governor, and is reserved for those whose contribution has left a lasting legacy in the province, Canada, and beyond. Members of the Order collectively create Ontario's most excellent citizens, whose contributions have shaped, and will continue to shape, the province's history and place in Canada.
Shashi is a Professor of Forest Resource Economics and Management at the University of Toronto, as well as the Progam Director for the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program, with an international reputation as an expert in the intersection of forest management and human rights.
He was one of the first in his field to focus on sustainability and the social aspects of forest management. In Ontario, he played a key role in modernizing the province’s forest tenure and stumpage systems. Shashi has also worked extensively with Canada’s First Nations to ensure their values inform forest management. Overseas, Shashi has contributed to the recognition of forest rights in India and worked with numerous forest economists in China. He is leading a global think tank – New Frontiers of Forest Economics.
The only Canadian to win the Queen’s Award for Forestry, Shashi is the founding Director of the University of Toronto’s groundbreaking Master of Science in Sustainability Management program. He has been promoting a unique approach to global sustainability that integrates the concepts of love and sustainability.
Shashi has received major awards and honours in the past, such as the Queen's Award for Foresty, the International Life Science Award, the Ontario's Premier Research Excellence Award, the Scientific Achievement Award of Canadian Institute of Forestry, and the Scientific Achievement Award of the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations.
The MScSM program and staff at IMI would like to express our deepest congratulations to Dr. Shashi Kant for this well-deserved honour. We are all thankful to work with such an inspiring role model.
To watch the livestream of the ceremony, please click here.
To read more about the award, please click here.
To view a list of this year's Order of Ontario Appointees, please click here.
