Abstract

Praveen Pardeshi, an Indian civil servant currently leading the United Nations’ global efforts to prevent non-communicable diseases. He was served as Principal Secretary of Forests of Maharashtra (India).

The talk will be hosted by Professor Bhaskar Vira, Department of Geography.

India is home to a rich biodiversity which has defined India’s civilisational identity.  The loss of ecosystems driven by humans is changing the nature and character of India, culturally, and even in terms of socio-economic parameters. In this context, some key conservation actions like rehabilitation of villages and settlements from within Protected Areas to restore undisturbed habitats comes at cost; at the same time has potential of providing continuity to India’s historical identity.

Praveen will examine the trade-offs, with a focus on such rehabilitations from tiger reserves like Tadoba and Melghat in Maharashtra, India, in which he played a decisive role.

Communities living in forest fringes usually bear the burden of biodiversity conservation in terms of loss of resource access and conflict with wildlife; yet are stewards of forests to which they are culturally linked. Drawing on his years of experience, Praveen will speak about how society and governments further engender this relationship so it is dualistically beneficial to themselves and biodiversity, particularly in context of existing government initiatives in Maharashtra.