Meritförteckning

I did my graduation in Horticulture and postgraduation in Agriculture from the TamilNadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore in India. Thereafter I joined the Indian Forest Services (IFS) and underwent a rigorous three-year training programme, which is an equivalent of a masters degree in forestry. I have done a postgraduate diploma in ecology and environment. I have also completed a diploma in Wildlife Management from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.

I have worked in the forestry sector for 20 years with Government of India and Punjab state.  My interest is nature and environment conservation through people’s participation. I have been instrumental in doing large scale tree plantations in rural areas in Bathinda, Punjab with people’s involvement. I have also worked in the Forest Survey of India and worked in various capacities in the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change in New Delhi.

I have done a short course on biodiversity conservation from TU, Dresden, Germany and participated in a workshop on Low Carbon Green Growth for Local Governments organized by CifalJeju in Jeju, South Korea.

I have presented a paper on “Trees Outside Forests through Social mobilization of people under FDA programme in Punjab” in the National Seminar on Trees Outside Forests held in Chandigarh.

I have published two papers – “Conserving Biodiversity through Sacred Groves in Pudukkottai District” and “Ecosystem Goods and Services provided by ‘Beels’ in Kaziranga” in the journal Indian Forester.

Presently, I am a Researcher at the University of Helsinki, doing my Ph.D. My focus is on conservation of Protected Areas in Punjab through people’s participation. Research is oriented towards maintenance of ecosystem services and motivation of the local people for conservation by activities helping in conservation like the ecotourism and payment mechanisms like PES (Payments of Ecosystem Services).