Western Ghats
A global biodiversity hotspot and one of the most irreplaceable areas for conservation, this region has a staggeringly high plant and animal diversity overlapping with a dense human population. Here, our work focuses on long-term wildlife and forest ecosystem research under a changing climate, ecological restoration, conservation outside protected reserves, and human-wildlife coexistence.
Wildlife Research and Conservation
In this biodiversity hotspot, research on plant and animal ecology and human impacts on wildlife both informs and guides our conservation efforts.
Ecological Restoration
Across multiple locations along the Western Ghats, we work to revive degraded natural ecosystems from tropical rainforests and deciduous forests to shola-grasslands.
Forests in a Changing World
As forests face global climate change impacts and human pressures, long-term research and monitoring helps track trends and find solutions. This motivates our work on forest ecosystem dynamics and tree phenology cycles In the Western Ghats.
Living with nature
We work with local communities to implement on-ground measures and use innovative technology to reduce conflicts between people and wildlife and promote coexistence. And there's much we can learn from indigenous forest-dwellers.
Policy and Outreach
We work to translate our scientific findings and understanding to positively influence conservation policy and on-ground practice, by communicating and engaging with diverse stakeholders on crucial conservation issues.
Partners
- Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies
- AMM Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre