Summary

With more than twenty-years of experience in the Sustainability, Conservation Science, Environment, Ecology, Communities, and Tourism domains; my strength lies in combining Applied Sciences and the integration of sound research leading towards robust implementation and interventions. I work with Governments, Academia, Communities and the Industry stakeholders. My work and interventions have led to suggestions being included in Government dossiers and reports. I have had the opportunity to be engaged on various projects for Government of India (Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change) and six state Governments (Departments of Tourism, and Department of Forest) (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Kerala) in the dynamics of Environment, Development, Sustainability, Community Based Ecotourism, Policy and its implementation, and connect with the Communities in the Forests and forest fringe areas for better management and conservation.

I always believed that coexistence between people, culture, and ecology refers to the dynamic, sustainable state where human communities and nature share landscapes, co-adapting to the presence of the other. It moves beyond merely reducing conflict, focusing on fostering positive, reciprocal relationships and integrating cultural values with ecological needs. 

Communities who were considered earlier as just ‘cog in the wheels,’ have always  been   important stakeholders who contribute not only to themselves, but to other stakeholders, making conservation efforts successful when they involve local communities managing resources and mitigating conflicts, ensuring that the benefits of conservation are shared. Nature should not be viewed as separate from people, but the thought process of viewing it as something to be protected with people. 

I place my success on the communities who play a dynamic role in my day-to-day work.  The role that I have played has initiated a thought process in the mind of the community and its people, who are willing not only to work towards sustainable livelihood options and help in conservation, preservation, and protection, as a mantra which augurs well for all stakeholders, but also are drivers of culture, tradition, and belief systems that play a crucial role in the way they perceive the present day Conservation model. 

I know of the scared groves that have thrived due to the protection given by religious places and the local folks and folklore guarding them fiercely. Dakshina Kannada has live examples and I am aware of the sacred groves (Devarakadu and Nagabana/Nagavana (Serpent forests) that have thrived due to the protection given by religious places and the community members guarding them fiercely as they consider the places as sacrosanct, as they have been dedicated to the local deities and spirits. A few of the places that I have studied and worked are Sringeri (Chikamagaluru district), Kukke Subramanya (Dakshina Kannada), and the Daiva traditions of Karnataka through the Panjurli and Guliga paraphernalia which have kept the forest intact. Another tradition that I am making efforts to understand are the Koragajje traditions in Dakshina Kannada district, which have enamoured the local population to manage, living alongside community forests/reserves, for hundreds of years acting as common pool resources (CPR), a fact which I have enamored and learnt through the contributions of Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostroms’ local communities, natural resources, and regulation. These are case studies and lived examples of coexistence, sustenance and preservation which add value and support us to contemplate, plan, and usher in interventions that will support development.

Through Dharthi, I have been instrumental in creating: 

1. Dharthi Learning Centre (DLC): A lifelong connect to the young people (School children) and the community that they are a part of. A footprint will be created by ‘training the educators’ in the Schools which will provide for a constant learning to the school children. Community and Human Wildlife Conflict (HWC) and its management through the genre of Education and proactive measures of mitigation. Our Rural Education Program is our strength, a program that teaches us our field lessons, we learn more than we teach and we love the rural school children. We have conducted and continue to conduct periodic nature education programs for the Government school children and teachers of schools in rural and forest areas trained more than 1500 Government school children around a high conflict area of Bannerghatta National Park on Human Wildlife Conflict. Government funded program called Chinnara Vana Darshana
2. Dharthi Green Project (DGP): Outreach through the Corporate and the Community. Exposure to interaction with Community.
3. Dharthi Ecotourism and Livelihood Programme (DELP): Our Livelihoods program looks at working with Eco Development Committees (EDC) and Eco tourism Management Committees (ETMC) where we study the situations on people living within and outside of Forest areas, their dependence on forest for an income and role of tourism to alleviate poverty.

Extensive field knowledge is what shapes my thoughts and functioning with a thorough understanding of government’s laws and rules including the schemes and programmes. I have contributed towards policy decisions, Strategic Planning, Program Management, Stakeholder Consultations, Community Engagements, Impact Investing, Social, Environment and Tourism Impact Assessments.

I am humbled to have been the awardee of the top 22 Women Urjasvitas (2024) (https://www.amarujala.com/photo-gallery/madhya-pradesh/bhopal/urjasvita-samman-2024-work-of-22-women-power-from-india-and-abroad-got-name-and-respect-bhopal-2024-02-20) of my country. I was honoured for my works in the Environment and Tourism sector. Received the Award from Madhya Pradesh State Minister of Public Health and Family Welfare Shri Narendra Shivaji Patel and Minister of Women and Child Development Smt Nirmala Bhuria.