Ghazala Shahabuddin - Session 04, 2022-11-08

(00:01:24) Conservation worldview With reference to her conservation worldview, Ghazala Shahabuddin shares that it has remained largely the same since her involvement in various campaigns and projects since high school, but she now realises the complexity of conservation and the need for a wider framework of understanding, including social and government policies. She emphasises the importance of working with people and communities to bring about change locally, but also recognises the potential impact of top-down government policies on conservation efforts. She cites an example of a community-managed forest that is threatened by a government road-building project, demonstrating how government policies can drastically impact the success of conservation efforts.

(00:06:55) Influencing government policy and involvement in research and conservation She acknowledges that conservationists and scholars, both face challenges in working with governments due to the time-consuming nature of their work, but feels the former must deal with them more actively to influence government decisions. Shahabuddin discusses her increased involvement in conservation over the years and her focus on building capacity among young scholars and local conservationists. She is part of a network of NGOs and individuals building capacity for nature-linked tourism among local youth in Uttarakhand, and she helps raise money for projects such as nature guides and training workshops. She expresses a desire to do more in local conservation and create projects focused on participatory forest restoration. Despite this focus on conservation, Shahabuddin is still actively involved in research, which she sees as essential for effective implementation of conservation interventions. She feels that research and conservation have a positive feedback loop and that one foot should be kept in both areas. She believes that research is critical to understanding the complexities of local systems and ecosystems and that conservation work feeds into research.

(00:16:05) Place of formal scientific knowledge in conservation in India and globalisation of conservation Shahabuddin shares her belief that formal scientific knowledge is crucial for effective conservation in India, but one needs to be careful not to be too reductionist in the approach. She cites the cheetah reintroduction programme as an example of the importance of scientific knowledge in conservation. She feels that not enough time is being spent in the field to really understand ecosystems and all their variables. She is of the opinion that fieldwork is not encouraged enough and that there is too much focus on large-scale studies and multi-author papers instead of smaller, more detailed field studies. She believes that more scientific work is needed in conservation, but one needs to be careful and considerate about how one approaches ecological studies to avoid faulty management recommendations. Shahabuddin expresses her preference for small-scale field studies and highlights the challenges of publishing such studies. Researchers, she says, who prefer small-scale studies, face constraints due to the emphasis on large-scale, cross-regional analysis and high-impact journals’ preference for such studies. She laments that Western funding priorities are biased towards species in biodiversity hotspots, with little support for ecosystems that are heavily used by people and need conservation. Funding, also, she states, focusses on critically endangered species, rather than management and restoration issues across larger landscapes. She gives the example of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for the increasing promotion of a species-wise approach over ecosystem-level conservation, and shares that the situation is not improving over time.

(00:28:10) Multidisciplinary work Shahabuddin discusses the challenges of working in teams in India, noting that partnerships and teamwork are not as easy to carry forward as they are in the West. She also explains that cultural differences make it difficult for people with different viewpoints to work together, which spills over into public life. She identifies the education system as a barrier to multidisciplinary work, as it is built in a way that does not allow for the maturation of ideas at a higher level. She suggests that multidisciplinary work should be done in a collaborative framework, and individuals should strengthen their core areas before branching out. She notes that people need to talk to each other more and work in more multidisciplinary frameworks, which is starting to happen. She is unclear if it still exists, but she gives the example of the Biligiri Rangana Hills, where there used to be an effective setup for ecological and anthropological work with Soligas. Scientists, like MD Madhusudan, she says, are working to bring in broader perspectives, even without a formal team. She prescribes training for ecology students that needs to include more social science education to create a better understanding of the social-ecological context of ecological issues.

(00:37:45) Place of local/traditional knowledge in conservation Shahabuddin believes that local knowledge, particularly that of indigenous communities, has not been utilised enough in conservation decision making and action. Stemming from her work in Gadchiroli, she highlights the importance of local knowledge in understanding plant regeneration and seed dispersal systems. She mentions the concept of community reserves and joint protected area management, which were designed to bring local knowledge into conservation efforts but have not been implemented effectively. She also notes that scientists should include local experts in their research, as they are highly dependent on them in the field.

(00:41:40) Not being rooted in one institute Shahabuddin explains that she has not remained rooted in any one institution because of her personal family life and also because she had to leave two previous places of work due to various reasons. She discusses the reasons for leaving Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD), where she built the environment and development programme over five years, and the NGO she founded, Centre for Ecology, Development and Research (CEDAR). Despite the challenges at these two places, she has maintained her research interests, centred around human impacts on the environment and has found that her varied experiences have given her a wider perspective on this topic. She has also met many diverse people who have enriched her experience, brought her greater awareness of the difficulties that people from different backgrounds may face and taught her humility. She feels lucky to have had a good education and aims to spread that knowledge around [interviewee addition post interview: she aims to do so widely, and particularly among younger people]. She notes that working in multiple places has prevented her from becoming complacent and entrenched in one particular environment or ideology. Although she faces some drawbacks of not having job security or a place to call her own, she believes that her research speaks for itself and is valuable wherever she is. [00:43:01 - 00:43:40 - Restricted Access. Contact archives@ncbs.res.in for details] [00:43:49 - 00:43:57 - Restricted Access. Contact archives@ncbs.res.in for details]



(00:50:20) Time for book projects Shahabuddin acknowledges that being posted abroad has been productive in terms of writing books, because there are fewer distractions such as teaching and meetings. She has tried to bring out new people's work in her books, specifically people who were finishing up their PhD and had something new to say about conservation. She specifically mentions Rinki Sarkar, TR Shankar Raman and Divya Mudappa. She believes that writing books creates a body of knowledge that is useful for people doing multi-disciplinary work. She feels that if she was part of a formal institute, she would not have been able to concentrate on writing books, given the amount of focussed work it requires. [Archivist’s note: the interviewee refers to T.R. Shankar Raman as ‘Sridhar’]

(00:54:19) Satisfaction in her career Shahabuddin says she finds more satisfaction in the conservation and mentorship work she has done in recent years, compared to research papers that are needed for career advancement. For her, mentoring students and interns and seeing them become active conservationists is particularly fulfilling. In the field, she has empowered local people to become better stewards of their natural resources by involving them in conservation planning, training and asking for their views. She shares her plan to focus on this work more once she moves back to India, but says she will continue research as well. She talks about mentoring several projects, including a successful PhD on woodpeckers by Raman Kumar and shares that she is currently involved in a project on the effect of warming on amphibians in the Kumaon.

(00:59:27) Disappointments in her career Speaking about disappointments in her career, while acknowledging that they are a part of one's work, Shahabuddin mentions the department of environment and development at AUD not having turned out as envisaged. She also shares that mentorship can be challenging, as not all students may perform as expected. Currently, a major challenge for her is obtaining permits from the Forest Department for bird work in Uttarakhand. Shahabuddin misses not having a home institution to nurture and advance her career in conservation and research, but notes that there are few institutions in Delhi that provide an environment free from politics and conducive to long-term work.

(01:03:07) Conservation career advice for young people She advises that while training is important for those interested in conservation, given the current climate crisis, it is also important for young people to get involved in campaigning for forests and climate at a local or national level. [01:02:39 - 01:02:49 - Restricted Access. Contact archives@ncbs.res.in for details]

(01:05:24) Favourite wildlife moment Her “favourite wildlife moment”, she says, was a walk in the Western Ghats where she had a close encounter with a group of gaurs and realised the powerlessness and vulnerability of humans in the face of nature.