I received my Masters in Environment and Development from School of Human Ecology, Ambedkar University Delhi in 2016, and my Bachelors in Commerce (Honors) from University of Delhi in 2012. My master's thesis focused on the spatial response of a wild herbivory species, kiang (Equus kiang), to a nomadic-pastoral-indigenous community, Changpas, in the Rhupshu region (Changthang) in Ladakh. I worked on a project titled "Development of Landscape Management Plan and Monitoring with Reference to Ken-Betwa River Link Project, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh" at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) at the Landscape Ecology and Visualization Lab (LEV-L) from 2018 to 2021. My role was to design a Community Engagement Plan in a 47,620 sq km area in and around protected areas in the Panna landscape, where I investigated socioeconomic situations, forest dependency, and human-wildlife interactions.
My broad research interests include human-wildlife interactions, social and political ecology, and cultural and environmental anthropology, with a focus on people's attitudes toward wildlife, local institutions, resource/space use, and quantification of ecological, economic, and sociological factors in order to develop mitigation strategies. I'm interested in comprehending how interdisciplinary methods challenge traditional planning practices and archaic conservation policies. I find it intriguing to question if human-wildlife tolerance is by choice or is the only way of negotiation? Prior to joining WII, I also worked at the Centre for Urban Ecology and Sustainability (AUD) on an ecological restoration project amidst Delhi's concretization, as well as on the representations of a wild herbivore species called Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) in Delhi's urban parks and rural villages. My study focuses on human and non-human space usage in a diverse environments, including cold deserts, urban settings, and forested areas, and I use regional and landscape approaches to build a more convivial world.
Education:
M.A., Environment & Development, School of Human Ecology, Ambedkar University Delhi, 2016
B. Commerce (Honors), University of Delhi, 2012
