October 2023

On 27 October 2023, Prof Maharaj Pandit, who is visiting NUS as a Ngee Ann Kongsi Distinguished Professor, gave a public lecture entitled “Nativism in Ecology: A Xenophobic Metaphor?” An engaging tour de force of history, geology, geography, ecology and biodiversity, with particular focus on Singapore and Southeast Asia, the talk provoked the audience to ponder “if species’ geographic distribution is a natural phenomenon, is the native-alien debate, spurred by invasion biology, relevant or even necessary?”