Title of the Talk: "Explaining coexistence in trees, examining wildlife in human-modified landscapes and assessing forest recovery: an illustration of three ways of “seeing” the Natural World"
Speaker: Dr. Akshay Surendra, Learning Support Fellow, Postgraduate Program in Wildlife Biology & Conservation, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS-TIFR), Bangalore Doctoral Candidate, School of the Environment, Yale University
Abstract: “Ecology is the science of the obvious, wildlife conservation is a crisis discipline, and a bunch of laws govern management of India’s forests. These three vastly different lenses attempt to ‘see’ the same natural world. How are they different? In this talk, I will show rather than tell you about these three different ways of seeing nature. As an ecologist, I illustrate how dozens of tree species coexist in rainforests. As a conservation scientist, I will shed light on birds changing over time within fragmented forests and people’s perception of conflict with different species of wildlife. In collaboration with the Forest Department, I will report how forests have changed with timber extraction. In the end, I will leave you with my attempts at building capacity to bridge these three ways of seeing Nature.”
We look forward to your active participation.
Warm Regards,
Environmental Studies Department, Ashoka University