Members of the NCCI

We are an inclusive community and welcome anyone working within the Central Indian Landscape to join our group. If you'd like to add your bio to this page, please email us to introduce yourself and then complete this member bio form. We look forward to learning about you and your work!

Anam Ahsan
M.tech Student, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun
Connection to central India: Development of forest type-density map,corridors for tigers and habitat suitability models for ungulates in Pench,Kanha and Achanakmar Tiger Reserves. Hobbies: Chess, Reading literature, Writing Poems.
 
Ruth DeFries
Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University.
Connection to central India: I have been actively engaged in research on land use change, food security, and forests in central India, particularly around Kanha Tiger Reserve. I am president of the DeFries-Bajpai Foundation, which provides small grants for research on central India, and have supervised many students and post docs working in central India. Website.

Nitin Desai
Director-Central India, Wildlife Protection Society
Connection to central India: Assisting enforcement agencies on anti poaching.
 




Courtney Dunn
Executive Director, The Prusten Project
Connection to central India: I founded The Prusten Project in 2012 after completing an undergraduate research study with Bengal tigers residing at the National Tiger Sanctuary in Branson, Missouri. I also work at the Dallas World Aquarium as a Senior Mammal Keeper, where I care for the facility's Giant Anteaters, Hoffman's Two-Toed Sloths, various tamarin species, and a long list of neotropical birds. I serve on the Conservation Committee for the American Association of Zookeepers. I am currently working on my Ph.D in Quantitative Biology at the University of Texas at Arlington. I am studying the unique acoustic properties of Panthera tigris vocalizations in order to establish an acoustic monitoring network for the species in Central India. The acoustic monitoring network, in theory, would also be able to help collect vocalizations from a wide range of species in the landscape in addition to help monitor human activity in the area (i.e. poaching, illegal logging, etc). My educational background includes a Bachelor and Master of Science in Biology from the University of Central Arkansas. Hobbies: I volunteer my time with a nonprofit organization that focuses on providing positive role models for at-risk youth in the United States. I often dress up in various superhero or character costumes to visit kids to teach about anti-bulling or visit children's hospital to help bring smiles to their faces.

Trishna Dutta
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Georg-August-University Göttingen
Connection to central India: I am a conservation biologist interested in large carnivore conservation in fragmented landscapes. I use a combination of field biology, non-invasive genetics, and spatial analysis to understand how large carnivores potentially use and move through the landscape. I conduct solution-oriented research that helps the conservation of species, habitats, and ecosystems. My current research focuses on the connectivity of brown bears in Europe. Website.

Forest Fleischman
Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota
Connection to central India: I conduct research on how foresters make land management decisions, and have conducted much of this region in Vidarbha & Telangana. Website
 
Kedar Gore
Director, The Corbett Foundation
Connection to central India: TCF works in the tiger reserves of Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench and Sanajy-Dubri and Kanha-Pench and Bandhavgarh-Sanjay-Dubri corridors (short film on our work). Hobbies: Birding.
 


Jyotirmay Jena
Associate Coordinator, WWF-India
Connection to central India: I am a Wildlife Biologist working in the Central India Landscape since 2006 as a young researcher with WII and now with WWF-India. Most of my work focuses on large carnivores (specially tigers), corridor functionality, population recovery and human wildlife conflict mitigation. As a conservation professional and working with WWF-India I am currently involved in policy advocacy, addressing drivers negatively impacting the landscape, assuring community involvement in conservation and awareness among general public. Currently pursuing PhD from Amity University-India, which involves studying and understanding Tiger Population Recovery in one of the key site in Madhya Pradesh. Hobbies: I am a good cook of traditional Odia (Odisha, a state in eastern India) food, loves to go on trekking and fishing. Website
 
Suhas Kumar
Retired officer, Indian Forest Service
Connection to central India: I spent almost 23 years in the field of wildlife management within and outside the state. Honorary positions are - Member M.P State Wildlife Board, M.P State Biodiversity board, Chairman MEE team for Wetern region, 2016, MoEF, Chairman, MEE of Tiger Reserves, cluster1, 2017-18, NTCA. I attended the Kanha-Pench Landscape Symposium in 2014. Hobbies: Writing, Teaching, Photography.
 


Jennie Miller
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of California-Berkeley
Connection to central India: I am a wildlife ecologist interested in the ecological and social elements of human-wildlife interactions that facilitate conservation in human-dominated landscapes globally. I received my PhD from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in affiliation with the Wildlife Institute of India. I carried out my dissertation research in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, studying the spatiotemporal patterns of tiger and leopard depredation on livestock and developing spatial risk models to examine hotspots of risk. I am now developing the application of risk models into decision support tools to help natural resource managers and stakeholders more effectively mitigate human-wildlife conflict in high-risk areas. Hobbies: Birding, kayaking, collecting chai recipes from across South Asia. Website.

Monoranjan Mohanty
Senior Scientist, Govt Department
Connection to central India: Climate Change impact studies in Agriculture. Hobbies: Badminton. Website
 




Indranil Mondal
PhD Student, Wildlife Institute of India
Connection to central India: I study tiger corridors and human-tiger conflict in the Eastern Vidarbha Landscape.
 



Pinki Mondal
Senior Research Associate, Center for International Earth Science Information Network, Earth Institute, Columbia University.
Connection to central India: I am an environmental geographer trained in remote sensing and Geographic Information Science (GIS), and have a PhD in Land Change Science from the University of Florida, USA. My current research examines impacts of weather variability on agriculture and food/nutrition security in India. I use remote sensing/GIS, statistics, and crop-climate models to identify how crop productivity will vary with different adaptation strategies for projected climate change scenarios. I use household surveys and linear programming tools to understand how agricultural intensification impacts food and nutrition security in smallholder farmer families. Website.

Amrita Neelakantan
PhD Candidate, Columbia University
Connection to central India: I am carrying out my PhD research on the resettlement of people from national parks. My research focuses on human well-being, livelihood strategies and impacts on natural resources once forest dwellers have relocated outside protected areas. I am exploring patterns of forest resource use and food security at the landscape level. My study is based around Kanha National Park in the central Indian highlands.
 
Debojyoti Raha
Ph.D. Student, Dr. Harisingh Gour Central University
Connection to central India: Currently working on "Evaluation of Carbon Cycling in Tropical Forests of Madhya Pradesh, India.
 




Upasana Sarraju
Research Consultant, India Institute of Science
Connection to central India: Elephant Conservation and Human-Elephant Conflict in central India. Hobbies: Musician and Writer.
 
Alark Saxena
Lecturer and Associate Research Scientist, Yale University
Connection to central India: Forest growth models, impact evaluation of conservation policies in Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary. Hobbies: Yoga Philosophy. Website
 


Sunny Shah
Landscape Coordinator, WWF-India
Connection to central India: Landscape ecology, conservation biology and corridor functionality assessment. Hobbies: Photography.
 
Sandeep Sharma
International Research Specialist, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
Connection to central India: Corridors and connectivity in Central India landscape, tiger conservation and research. Hobbies: Music.
 





Kartikeya Singh
Partner, Wildlife And Forestry Services
Connection to central India: Translocations, conflict management, tourism. Hobbies: Horse Riding, Angling
 



D. P. Srivastava
Nature Education Officer, University of Delhi
Connection to central India: Research in Panna Landscape. Hobbies: Hiking, Travelling, Restoration Ecology, Wildlife Research.
 


Sudarshan Suchi
Program Head, Rural Transformation, Reliance Foundation
Connection to central India: The Program is engaged in holistic development initiatives in over 150 villages across Central India Landscape mostly in and around Panna; Kanha; Satpura and Pench National Parks. The work includes livelihoods, farming, rain water harvesting; supporting resettlement of villages around Satpura; Natural Resource Management. Hobbies: Farming; Long Distance Running, Meeting people, travelling and experiencing new places and reading
 
Bikrant Tiwary
Chief Executive Officer, Grow-Trees.com
Connection to central India: Planting trees in the periphery of wild life reserves (Like: Kanha, Pench). Hobbies: Hiking, Mentoring NGOs and social ventures
 





Vidya Venkatesh
Chief Executive Officer, Last Wilderness Foundation
Connection to central India: We work with communities to mitigate human-wildlife conflict near tiger reserves - Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Panna. Hobbies: Butterfly watching, travelling to then wilderness & the mountains.