Kamaljit Bawa - Session 02, 2022-09-02

In this session, Kamaljit Singh Bawa stresses the urgency of aligning capacity building efforts with the scale of biodiversity conservation challenges in India. Despite four decades of development in conservation biology, he highlights that the understanding of India’s biodiversity decline remains limited, with deforestation and climate change cited as primary causes. Bawa also talks about the scarcity of resources for conservation education and training.

Individualism and competitive funding models, he says, impede collective action in conservation. Incorporating local knowledge is deemed crucial, with Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)’s evolution in integrating it into conservation decisions highlighted.

Bawa says that private philanthropy is expected to play a growing role, but challenges such as organisational capacity persist. He advocates for interdisciplinary collaboration, emphasising participatory approaches and leveraging unique ecosystems.

Successful partnerships between think tanks, academia and government bodies are called for, drawing inspiration from models in other countries such as the United States of America and Costa Rica. Despite challenges, Bawa is optimistic for the future, driven by the growing interdisciplinary movement, technology and hopes for future generations’ involvement in conservation efforts. (00:00:00) Introduction

(00:00:31) Capacity building and biodiversity decline and the role of knowledge production

(00:10:58) Need for capacity building in civil society, academia and businesses

(00:15:14) The challenges of fragmented capacity and limited resources, including funding

(00:21:11) Incorporating local knowledge in conservation efforts

(00:27:23) Evaluation of incorporation of different kinds of knowledge into conservation over time

(00:36:33) Conservation efforts, private and individual philanthropy, and environmental issues

(00:44:02) Vision for the future of conservation in India, focussing on interdisciplinary approaches, collaboration and large-scale approaches

(00:51:07) Need for think tanks, academic institutions and the government to be better linked, the co-creating of knowledge, and drawing inspiration from successful examples in other countries

(00:58:28) Reasons for being hopeful about the future of conservation in India: interdisciplinarity, technology and the younger generation

(01:01:24) Winding up the session