ASHOKA TRUST FOR RESEARCH IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT INC
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Mission Statement
The mission is to generate rigorous inter-disciplinary knowledge for achieving environmental conservation and sustainable development in a socially just manner, to enable the use of this knowledge by policy makers and society, and to train the next generation of scholars and leaders. ATREE is an interdisciplinary research organization focused on carrying out research, outreach, and education in the field of environmental conservation and sustainable development (www.atree.org). ATREE’s envisions a society living in harmony with nature. ATREE has been consistently ranked among the top 20 environmental think tanks of the world and among the top 2 in Asia by the University of Pennsylvania(https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=think_tanks)and is recognized by Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India, as a research center. ATREE was established in 1996 in Bangalore India, with the mission of bringing together researchers to carry out interdisciplinary, applied work to achieve three goals: (a) conserve biological diversity and promote sustainable development, (b) improve the institutional and policy framework for conservation of biodiversity, and (c) strengthen the capacity of government and non-government organizations to use the best knowledge and data to solve conservation problems. The Academy at ATREE has been training the future leaders in interdisciplinary sustainability science since 2006. The centerpiece of the Academy is the doctoral program in conservation and sustainability studies. Inter-disciplinarity is key to ATREE’s research, which dwells at the interface of natural and social sciences. ATREE’s work spreads across the forests of Western Ghats, the ecosystems of the Himalaya, grasslands of Kutch, wetlands of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the expanding urban cities of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and other parts of India.
About This Cause
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) focuses on research and education to engage and influence policy and practice in the conservation of nature, management of natural resources and sustainable development. Established in 1996 as a non-profit organisation, ATREE works in the forests of the Western Ghats, the ecosystems of Northeast Himalayas, the grasslands of Kutch, the farmlands and wetlands of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, the expanding cities of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and in other parts of India. Over the last 20 years, ATREE has set up a series of community conservation centres to engage in biodiversity conservation and livelihood enhancement programmes with the help of local stakeholders and community organisations. ATREE’s research goes into restoring these areas and managing bioresources sustainably in collaboration with the communities who inhabit these dynamic landscapes. Another essential cog in this matrix of human-dominated ecosystem conservation is government departments. There is an urgent need to engage with policy makers and forest departments on conserving ecosystems while protecting the rights of indigenous communities. What imparts a unique identity to ATREE is its seamless merging of an academic institution that conducts applied research – while also training future generations of interdisciplinary academics – a think-tank that informs public policy based on rigorous studies, and a community outreach organisation that aims to enhance the lives and livelihoods of local communities through the scientific insights it generates. ATREE’s programmes engage stakeholder throughout the process of research to ensure its salience and often disseminate their findings via one-on-one meetings with elected representatives and bureaucrats. ATREE received the 2019 UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation and our Founder-President, Dr Kamal Bawa, became the first Indian to receive the Linnean Medal in Botany by the Linnean Society of London. ATREE is dedicated to the generation of interdisciplinary knowledge, education, and policy for the environment and for socially just development. ATREE also contributes to the conservation of diverse environments throughout India, including the Eastern Himalayas, the UNESCO Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and the Western Ghats World Heritage Site, Vembanad lake, Kaziranga and Manas National Parks, the grasslands of Kutch, the wetlands of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and urban landscapes of Karnataka. To mention a few of ATREE’s Impacts - ATREE undertook the first ever comprehensive Conservation Planning exercise for the entire Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. Played a major role in nomination of Western Ghats as the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Identified critical areas for conservation in the Western Ghats. - ATREE played a key role in the initiative of the Ministry of Environemt, Forest and Climate Change to start a dialogue on long term ecological observatories network that seven years later became a national level program. - ATREE demonstrated the possibility of sustainable forest use by Non Timber Forest Species-harvesting communities with minimal ecosystem-wide impact. Sustainable harvesting techniques developed for a number of Non-timber forest produce species. - ATREE contributed to a national review of the implementation of the Forest Rights Act and the development of a road map for forest governance in post-FRA era. - ATREE created a consortium to establish the India Biodiversity Portal (www.Indiabiodiversity.org) initially under the sponsorship of the National Knowledge Commission; Initiated a well renowned international journal - Finally, ATREE, as one of the country’s premier center for research in biodiversity, is well placed to make major contributions to the National Biodiversity Mission announced by the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Council (PM-STIAC). A unique 10-year program, which will build capacity across all sections of Indian society and a credible and comprehensive biodiversity information base for embedding biodiversity as a key consideration in all developmental programmes, particularly in such sectors as agriculture, mitigation of climate change, ecosystem services, health and bioeconomy, with the primary objective of restoring and enhancing biodiversity and its sustainable use in India. Recently ATREE has also set up two new centres - Centre for Social and Environmental Innovation (CSEI) and Centre for Policy Design (CPD). The Centre for Social Environmental Innovation aims to create innovative, scalable solutions and convert the site-specific knowledge into scalable policy and impactful solutions. The Centre for Policy Design aims to apply knowledge to improve governance and policies through a cadre of policy staff, specifically focused to improve policy formulation and implementation.