| Kavana R | Interviews | Amita Basu |
Kavana R. is finishing up her Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from Bangalore University. I speak to her about her fascinating fieldwork with forest-dwelling tribal communities, tradeoffs around and approaches to nature conservation, the history of conflict between forest protection and tribal rights, the challenges of maintaining a clean and green university campus that happens to be located on public land, the destruction and futility of mass tree plantings, and ways of trying to make a difference that actually work.
Amita Basu, Columnist & Interviews Editor, MeanPepperVine
AB: You’re doing your PhD in Environmental Studies from Bangalore University. You presented some of your work last October at the Student Conference of Conservation Science (SCCS) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), which is where we met. Tell us about your doctoral work.
KR: My PhD thesis examines the “Utilisation of Ecosystem Services by Forest Fringe Communities to Reconcile Climate Risks in Western Ghats.” I’ve studied two tribal communities from the Kudremukh National Park (KNP) and the Biligiri Rangaswamy Tiger Reserve (BRT). I’m exploring the ways in which the capabilities of the tribals are helping them to adapt to climate risks and other challenges.
AB: How did you get into this line of work? What were your main motives, goals, and hopes, and have these changed over time?
KR: Today, everyone is talking about conservation and is interested in planting more trees and increasing forest cover. But conservation is not that simple. There are multiple tradeoffs associated with forest conservation, including tradeoffs being experienced by forest-dwelling indigenous or tribal communities. These communities have lived since ancient times in close association with forests, with which they have intimate cultural and spiritual ties. But forest conservation today often happens at the cost of tribal wellbeing. Even though the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 safeguards the rights of forest dwellers, on-ground realities are far more complex.
There is a general notion that the amount of natural resources or ecosystem services in a region will directly translate into gains for the local community. This not always true. If it were, African countries be the richest in the world. The wealth of a people depends not only on natural resources available locally, but also on the resources actually available to that particular individual or group. This is the metric that actually translates into a community’s wellbeing and contributes to its “capabilities.”
AB: Very interesting. This sounds like the difference between the nutrients that are present in our food, as determined by chemical analyses and listed on food packaging, vs. bioavailability, which is the proportion of nutrients that actually gets absorbed by the body.
KR: Yes. Keeping in mind this distinction, I conducted two case studies with forest-dependent tribal communities: the Gowdlu and Soliga tribes living in the KNP and BRT tiger reserves in the Western Ghats. Since both these tribes are more or less isolated from the wider world (though they’ve been influenced by it over time), they still differ on key metrics such as forest dependency, group capabilities, and success in adapting to climate change and other challenges.
Studying these two groups has taught me a lot. As researchers, even though we’re theoretically aware of the social dimension of conservation, often we’re biased towards hardcore conservation rather than inclusive conservation. My PhD research has revolutionised my perspective. I discovered that these forest-dwelling communities are in some sense inseparable from their forests. They’re living libraries of rich traditional ecological knowledge. Everyone I met had incredible stories full of invaluable lessons for humanity.
We city-dwellers often implicitly consider ourselves more advanced, and tend to unconsciously look down on forest dwellers. But the timeless wisdom such peoples hold and their perspectives on life made me realise how short-sighted those of us living far from nature can be. My research taught me to appreciate diverse perspectives and stop looking for black-and-white answers.
AB: What does an environmental scientist actually do? Give us a day in your life.
KR: Nature is our laboratory. Rather than working in closed labs under controlled conditions, we study nature and its dynamics in the field. Based on knowledge culled from the field, we generate frameworks and tools to help conserve the environment. It’s a multidisciplinary subject.
An environmental scientist studies and addresses issues like pollution, conservation, climate change, and ecosystem management. Our specific tasks vary widely depending on our focus and place of employment. My own research focuses on ecosystem management, conservation, and climate change.
Most of our time as researchers is spent in the field observing and documenting our subjects, meeting various stakeholders, and filing lots of paperwork seeking permissions from the Forest Department. Since my study happened in protected areas, there were many protocols involved in getting permissions for fieldwork.
I spent months in the field, living with and studying these tribal communities. Then came the deskwork of developing methodological and theoretical frameworks, data entry and analysis, and writing up my research for academic publication. As doctoral students, my peers and I also attend seminars and teach postgraduate classes.
AB: India has been severely deforested, and much of the forest that does exist is degraded or threatened. Clearly, conserving our forests is a vital endeavour. But an equitable forest management programme must also consider the needs of forest-dwelling communities. Your doctoral work examines how forest protection laws have impacted tribes and other indigenous communities: their livelihoods, their access to timber and non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and their overall quality of life. Describe this situation for us.
KR: Well, equating conservation purely to forests is a narrow notion, though forests are enormously important ecologically. Even if we focus on forest conservation, indigenous communities were never a threat. The British Raj developed forest policies in India that focused on protecting forests from a primarily utilitarian point of view, for industrial needs, rather than for conservation. It’s to that era that we can trace this false phrasing of the issue as forests vs tribal communities.
Today, we find forest-dependent communities in both of my study areas. But the tribals’ actual dependency on forests has declined drastically, especially in KNP. Their major source of income now is agriculture. Some tribals also make a livelihood from small business and manual labour. Younger tribals are getting formal education and migrating to the cities. Lots of relocations are also happening.
On the other hand, in BRT, even though tribals do participate in agriculture and manual labour, they are still largely dependent on forests and non-timber forest products. The communities in BRT are intimately connected to the forests culturally, and are more reluctant to relocate.
AB: How has the Forest Rights Act (FRA) changed this situation? Would you say the Act was a step in the right direction?
KR: FRA was a landmark step in preserving the rights of forest dwellers. But despite the empowerment provided by FRA, challenges remain. We need holistic approaches beyond policy implementation. Effective inter-departmental coordination, advocacy, and awareness are essential for addressing community concerns and fostering sustainable livelihoods.
AB: What unique challenges and opportunities does India have regarding forest conservation and the needs of forest dwellers?
KR: The FRA recognises the fundamental rights of people living in protected regions, especially the Western Ghats. Forests are often crucial to the livelihoods of these communities. However, they also face significant challenges related to human-animal conflicts, such as crop damage, livestock losses, and threats to human life. This occurs even as human activities affect the survival of wildlife, the preservation of habitats, and the overall conservation of biodiversity. Both central and state governments acknowledge the legitimate claims of forest dwellers as well as the imperative of conserving biodiversity.
Though the FRA was a step in the right direction, it cannot singlehandedly guarantee the wellbeing of forest dwellers. Grassroots organisations, institutional support, and complementary policies that account for all stakeholders are needed to create desirable outcomes. We must also honestly examine why some communities still lag behind on development indices despite various social schemes. Educating tribals about their own rights, and working on improving relationships between tribals and forest stewards, are key elements for the sustainable and equitable management of protected areas.
AB: Your research examines how different forest-dwelling communities have adapted to changing times, including climate change, the need for formal education, and urbanisation. Tell us about this. What factors help explain why some communities have adapted better than others?
KR: In spite of having similar opportunities and challenges, the community in KNP has adapted better than the community in BRT. One significant factor is formal education. Based on my observations and interactions, the communities in KNP have deep respect for and faith in formal education; they also have less gender bias about education, often even less than city dwellers! This has allowed both boys and girls in these communities to seek formal education and enjoy its rewards. This, in turn, has helped the community to understand existing conservation policies and has aided their decision-making about livelihoods and other life choices. This tribe has kept up quite well with the times and has successfully adopted alternative, non-forest-dependent livelihoods.
Some of the people I interviewed in BRT exhibited startling sensitivity and altruism, recognising the importance of conservation and placing the greater good over their individual needs. People here had experienced many hardships even before this area was declared a protected area. There used to be a huge iron ore-mining operation here; there has also been Naxalite unrest. These hardships may have made this community more resilient and assertive in protecting their own interests.
On the other hand, the Soliga tribes in BRT remain largely disconnected from society at large. Here I observed far less interest in education. Gender bias is highly prevalent. The rate of school dropouts is very high. For a Soliga girl, menarche generally spells the end of education. This community also has very strong cultural and spiritual ties to the forest, which makes them reluctant to migrate or seek alternative livelihoods.
Now, thanks to the efforts of non-governmental organisations like VGKK and ATREE, as well as government polies, things are a little better for the Soligas of BRT. But, considering the number of capacity-building programmes offered, the actual rate of progress here has been very limited. Not even a single relocation has happened from here so far.
AB: You and I recently spent some time at Bangalore University’s Nagarbhavi/Kengeri campus. B.U. is my alma mater, too. To my delight, I found the campus hasn’t changed much since my time, except for one crucial factor: there’s a lot more rubbish. Colourful plastic speckles the dense greenery and lines the roads in steaming heaps. We discussed the difficulties of policing traffic inside B.U., since the campus is public property and cannot legally be gated. Tell us about the challenges of maintaining a clean and green campus located on public property.
KR: Bangalore University has been very serious in conserving its greenery. B.U. has prioritised sustainability and has established a green space of 475 acres. B.U. periodically evaluates the sustainability practices of the campus and has documented its rich ecological resources. The university constructed seven check dams for rainwater harvesting between 2000 and 2005. This has helped improve the campus’s microclimate, facilitated biodiversity and groundwater recharge, and reduced the overflow of sewage-polluted storm water into the Vrishabavathi river running through campus. The forest cover on campus helps with carbon sequestration and offers a major green space near the city. It also offers an outdoor laboratory for research and teaching. B.U.’s Biopark wing helps maintain its greenery.
However, there is lot of littering happening around campus, which is of great concern. Numerous clean-up drives happen but nothing really changes. We don’t have a defined compound for the university, so a big stream of public vehicles moves through every day. Many visitors come here for their morning or evening walk; some bring along huge bags of rubbish which they dump along the roads. And during the night, many sandalwood trees are illegally cut for the profitable commercial and export business.
AB: In my day, I heard stories about staged encounters on campus between the police and sandalwood crime lords. I also heard that it was to dissuade criminals from hiding out here during the day that the campus set fire to its old undergrowth! It was a wild campus, with wild tales spreading like wildfire.
Coming back from fantasy to sober facts. Many corporate companies send their employees on annual tree-planting campaigns to fulfill criteria of corporate social responsibility. Universities do this too. As a former Assistant Professor at a prestigious private university, I saw the campus Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Cell lead students on a cleanup drive along the same stretch of road every year, once a year, just so as to be able to tick off a subcriterion on a NAAC checklist. (The National Assessment and Accreditation Council assesses Indian educational institutes and dispenses grades. High grades are highly sought after in order to attract public funding, lucrative private consultancies, collaborations with international universities, and wealthy students. Often, it feels like everything done at a university is motivated by the pursuit of a good NAAC grade.)
During my visit to B.U., you showed me numerous saplings of invasive species introduced by corporate tree-planting programmes. Making matters even more ridiculous, these saplings had been transplanted in the dense shade of established trees, and were thus often doomed to an early green death. Share with us your observations on the tree-planting campaigns on the B.U. campus. What would you suggest instead to people who really want to make a difference?
KR: People have become obsessed with tree plantings! Everyone wants to plant a tree, take a photo, splash it across social media, and call themselves a conservationist. Maybe they’re well-intentioned, but the truth is they’re doing more bad than good. Unscientific mass tree plantings are the opposite of an environmentally friendly action.
Nature is dynamic. Tress are only one element of a healthy environment. We need grasslands, deserts, rocky outcrops, and the full range of biomes. Every biome has its own range of fauna. The less we interfere with nature, the better.
As for corporate companies and universities doing cleanup drives or tree plantings for the sake of CSR funds or NAAC grades – each of us, as individuals and in our organisations, must take ownership of our moral responsibility to nature. Our duty to the environment cannot just be one more task that we cross off our checklist. Looking after nature is our duty to future generations.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Every environmental challenge is unique and demands unique solutions. Ill-considered actions, like introducing a nonnative fast-growing species of tree through plantation drives, can completely disrupt the ecosystem. Today we’re all living with the environmental damage caused by eucalyptus and acacia, non native species introduced to India during the social forestry movement.
Even if the tree species is well-chosen, our concept of nature conservation cannot be limited to planting trees. There are numerous small changes we can make to live more sustainably day-to-day. We can initiate a rainwater harvesting programme for our house or flat complex. We can work with our neighbours and with citizen action groups to help rejuvenate our local lakes.
Sensitive and effective conservation requires paying attention to the “where, what, how, and when.” If you can answer these questions scientifically, you’re halfway there.
Don’t just plant a tree or do something at random and leave it at that! We need to regularly monitor our efforts to see what’s actually working, what’s effective and sustainable.
AB: True. Conserving nature cannot be something we do for business greenwashing or NAAC ratings, for likes on social media, or as an act of charity.
Nature is our home. Nature conservation is the act of protecting our home. My own passion for nature is deep but self-interested. I love being in nature. I hate being in polluted deforested places, or thinking of endangered animals losing their habitats or their lives, or breathing polluted air. I’m not a charitable person at all, as far as humans go. I hate it when people think I must be nice since I care about nature. Looking after the one home you’ve got is not nice – it’s common sense.
What are your plans after PhD?
KR: I want to build a career in academia, research, or maybe a think tank. I want to apply my knowledge and make a difference in conservation and climate action.
AB: Tell us about the scope of work available to Environmental Science graduates. From my conversations with people in this field, this seems to be a dynamic discipline, calling upon not just the earth sciences but also the social sciences. What kinds of opportunities are open to students of Environmental Science?
KR: Environmental science education is crucial for addressing escalating global issues like climate change, pollution, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity. It’s a key piece of the puzzle for sustainable development and effective environmental policies.
But environmental science graduates in India face challenges in finding suitable jobs. Opportunities in the public sector are limited and highly competitive, while the private sector often restricts roles to compliance and sustainability reporting. Many businesses prioritise short-term gains over long-term sustainability. The public undervalues environmental professionals. Insufficient funding for research and lack of advanced infrastructure also limit opportunities. The interdisciplinary nature of the field and weak enforcement of environmental regulations further reduce demand for experts.
Solutions include: stronger collaborations between industry and academia, increased government funding, public awareness campaigns, and support for environmental entrepreneurship. Specialised training programmes can help graduates gain market-relevant skills and find rewarding work.
AB: You also make visual art. How does that practice inform your research and your life?
KR: The study of the environment is intricately entangled with our lives. It’s not a study which starts in a lab and ends in a research paper. It’s a wisdom we gather from nature and which we’re eager to communicate to the public. Raising awareness about environmental problems, and bringing ecological knowledge to every person on earth, is the need of the day. Literature and art are the best medium to do this.
Follow Kavana’s research on Research Gate, Google Scholar, or LinkedIn.
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Kavana R is a dedicated PhD research scholar in the Department of Environmental Science at Bangalore University, Karnataka. Her doctoral research focuses on “Utilization of Ecosystem Services by Forest Fringe Communities to Reconcile Climate Risks in the Western Ghats, India.” This work emphasizes her commitment to environmental sustainability and community resilience in vulnerable ecosystems. In addition to her research, Kavana has contributed to several significant environmental projects, including assessing the ecological footprint in protected areas and evaluating forest interventions. Her work has been published in conference proceedings and academic journals, showcasing her expertise in climate change, environmental policy, and sustainable development.
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Amita Basu is the Columnist and Interviews Editor of MeanPepperVine.
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Excellent work by my dear student Kavana… you can also study the microbial diversity in western ghats as a part of your continued work..all the best.. proud that you are contributing something towards sustainable environment
Thank you, madam, for your kind words. I will consider your suggestions.