Delhi, India
I am an environmental policy and conservation science enthusiast with a background in national and international climate governance, nature-based solutions, and ecosystem conservation. Currently, I am an Alexander von Humboldt International Climate Protection Fellow, selected as one of 15 young climate leaders globally. As part of this fellowship, I am based at the Greifswald Mire Centre and the University of Greifswald, Germany, where I am working on assessing the extent of peatlands in the Indian Himalayan region. My research also explores existing international biodiversity policy mechanisms to formulate policy designs in order to integrate peatlands into India's mainstream conservation framework and examine how their conservation can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Before this, I worked as a Senior Program Officer – Governments and Policy, South Asia at Climate Group, India, where I engaged with the Under2 Coalition to strengthen subnational climate governance and contributed to policy development on just transition, adaptation, and resilience. I also served as a State Climate Fellow for Tripura, where I provided technical assistance to state climate policies and worked on climate adaptation and net-zero strategies. My experience with WWF-India involved biodiversity mapping and land-use planning in the Trans-Himalayan region. I hold a Master’s in Wildlife Conservation Action from Bharati Vidyapeeth University and a Bachelor’s in Forestry from NERIST. My research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and presented internationally, including at SCCS Cambridge 2024, UK.
As an International Climate Protection Fellow, I am conducting research in collaboration with the University of Greifswald and Greifswald Mire Centre to assess the Indian Himalayan peatlands and develop a policy framework for their integration into India’s conservation strategy. My work focuses on advancing the scientific understanding of peatland ecosystems and translating research insights into actionable policy recommendations for better understanding of Peatland-Water nexus and climate resilience.
In my role as a State Climate Fellow, I am primarily engaged with the Tripura state government under the Directorate of Biotechnology. Here I am working on the "Bio-village 2.0" project to assist the department in improving the socio-economic condition of the rural population in the state through promoting sustainable climate-friendly development models in the selected villages. Apart from this, I have been assigned the task of incorporating the climate change aspects into the policies and schemes of the department. In addition to this, I am also engaged in the department’s unique initiatives like “DNA school club” and “College biotech club” where I got the opportunity to interact with school and college students from all over the state. Through these initiatives, my task is to inculcate the values of environmental conservation in the youth and help them to collaboratively bring out the best possible climate actions at the local level which could be feasible to implement in the long run.
Location: Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, India Key Responsibilities: 1. Land Use and Biodiversity Assessment: Led the preparation of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) maps, vegetation cover assessments, and biodiversity mapping for Lahaul-Pangi and Kinnaur landscapes in Himachal Pradesh to inform sustainable resource management and conservation planning. 2. Restoration and Degradation Analysis: Identified and mapped potential ecological restoration sites, degraded areas, soil erosion-prone zones, and groundwater potential zones using geospatial tools such as ArcGIS, ERDAS Imagine, Fragstats, and Google Earth. 3. Community Engagement: Facilitated awareness programs for local communities on the sustainable utilization of natural resources, enhancing participatory conservation efforts. 4. Conservation Planning: Conducted spatial analysis for identifying and mapping High Conservation Value (HCV) areas in key Himalayan landscapes including Gangotri-Govind and Darma-Byans (Uttarakhand) and Changthang (Ladakh), supporting targeted conservation action.