We are continually inspired by our members and seek to highlight a mixture of social scientists from around the world working to improve conservation efforts as part of the Member spotlight feature! Please check out previous member spotlights here. Let us know by email at sswg@conbio.org who might deserve to be in our next spotlight.
Amit Kaushik
Tell me a bit about you and your background?
My path into conservation wasn’t direct. I gained a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Delhi, in Commerce, a very different field! I’d always been interested in wildlife and conservation and wanted to move towards that path after my Bachelor’s, but in India, if you want to study conservation you need a degree in the sciences. Luckily, then I learnt about and got a place on the Master’s program (MA) in Environment and Development at the School of Human Ecology, Ambedkar University Delhi. The interview for entering this program was memorable, as I had no idea yet how to talk about conservation. The interviewer asked me “why are you interested in the program?”, and I shared an early memory of finding and caring for an orphaned kitten, which I found really rewarding. Another memory I shared was watching National Geographic documentaries on wolves. My younger brother and I used to howl while watching those shows. These are both special memories that pushed me to pursue a job in conservation, and helped me to get onto the MA program.
During my MA, I got my first experience of interdisciplinary conservation research. I travelled to Ladakh in the Trans-Himalayas to work on the distribution of kiang (Equus kiang), a species of wild ass, and the seasonal overlap of its distribution with the Changpa’s nomadic pastoral livestock herding activities. I found that kiang and livestock avoid each other spatially in different seasons, which was a good insight into means to minimise conflict.
After my MA, I was hired on a very ambitious project with Wildlife Institute India (WII), where I worked with forest communities to develop community engagement strategies for the Integrated Landscape Management Plan across 47,000km2 in the Greater Panna landscape, Central India. At WII, I was seen as a conservation social science researcher. At that time, I didn’t know what to call myself as I didn’t feel I had much social science training yet, but I pushed myself to do my best. In this project, I found out that forest communities lack basic facilities, and live with high risks and uncertainties, related to both negative interactions with wildlife and insecure livelihoods.
While working with the WII, I realised that a greater focus on the social sciences in conservation in India is needed. There are many people living in and around protected areas, but these people are excluded from the conservation narrative. Actually, wildlife documentary filmmakers in India rarely show that people own and live in these landscapes. In this way, conservation becomes exclusionary, ignoring the forest dwellers. This attitude must be abandoned in conservation.
With this experience, I joined a PhD program in Integrative Conservation, with an emphasis on Anthropology, at the University of Georgia last year. The program integrates multiple disciplines: Anthropology, Geography, Ecology, and Forestry to make a unique program for those interested in interdisciplinary and collaborative research.
What’s your current research focus?
My PhD research is in central India. Broadly, I’m studying what ecological, social, and political impacts rewilding programs have, and how we can make these programs equitable. In India, translocating species has become a common management practice within rewilding programs, but trained anthropologists or social scientists are very rarely involved in these processes. Yet, I’m not aware of a single rewilding site without a history or presence of people. Village relocations due to the establishment of new protected areas must be voluntary, and based upon free, prior and informed consent. Yet, to establish whether people consent to move away or not, communities are often surveyed using questionnaires, with ‘yes or no’ answer options. These approaches rarely ensure that communities are fully informed of the situation, and of their options. In most cases, actually there are no alternative options for these people. I think we fail as conservation practitioners when we view people as just numbers. In my research, I want to reflect on what the trade-offs are, who are the winners and losers, and how to approach disciplinary boundaries. That’s what really interests to me.
Who is someone who inspires you in the conservation field, and why?
The first person who inspired me was my MA professor, Dr. Asmita Kabra. She has worked for many years with the Saharia tribe in Kuno national park. Her presence is very important, especially now with the ongoing Cheetah (re)introduction project. Kuno was supposed to get Asiatic Lions from Gir National Park in India, but instead got African Cheetahs from Namibia. I think in such ambitious conservation projects, having people from different disciplines and perspectives can improve conservation practice. In Kuno’s case, Dr. Kabra has extensively written about what happens to local communities when they are relocated, which promotes fortress conservation. I see her insights useful in making conservation just and equitable. She also works on child education in this area, which is very inspirational. I imagine investing time, energy and resources in child education can be a great strategy for both people and conservation. Debating what kind of education is another topic of importance.
What has been a highlight of your career so far?
I think working with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) was a highlight for me. It gave me great exposure to the huge landscapes of Central India, and allowed me to interact with diverse scientists, researchers, forest managers, policymakers, and local communities, who play crucial roles in conservation policy making. I have great memories from my fieldwork. I remember talking to an old man who felt sad about his poor economic situation, but was cheerful in life, in general. Conservation is a crisis discipline, so finding optimism is invaluable and inspirational.
Collaborating with such a large and diverse team also gave me a good perspective on the different ways in which people approach conservation issues. I also learnt more about how our own personal biases affect problem-solving processes, and the need for greater awareness of these biases. I was grateful to work on the project with WII, it was really a highlight for me.
What advice do you have for early career conservationists trying to find their way in the conservation world?
This is a very important question. Throughout my journey, I have not always received the right guidance. I always looked for a guru, and have found some amazing people along the way, but I have realised that getting advice from many people with different insights is important in conservation. I’m engaged with SSWG mentoring program, because I have found mentoring programs helpful and think it’s very important to appreciate and help the younger generation. It’s important to identify what we have a passion for, while also finding a way to link it with what is required. Another piece of advice is to be humble and aware of our position and privilege.
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