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Faculty & Staff

Areas of Expertise

Conservation Biology

Degrees

PhD, Punjab University, Chandigarh, India, 1967
MS (Honors), Punjab University, Chandigarh, India, 1962.
BS (Honors), Punjab University, Chandigarh, India, 1960
BS, Punjab University, Chandigarh, India, 1958.

Professional Publications & Contributions

• Chaudhary, P., S. Rai, A. Mao, N. Rehman, S. Chettri, S. Wangdi, and K. S. Bawa. 2011. Climate change in the Himalayas: local perceptions and scientific knowledge. Current Science. 101: 504-513.
• Kamal, S., S. Rai. and K. S. Bawa. 2011. Enhancing conservation and livelihood security in biodiversity Hotspots—A case study. ICIMOD (in press)
• Chaudhary, P. and K.S. Bawa. 2011. Local perceptions of climate change validated by scientific evidence in the Himalayas. Biology Letters, published online, 27 April 2011, doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.0269.
• Bawa, K. S., N. Rai, and N. Sodhi. 2011. Rights, governance and conservation of biological diversity. Conservation Biology, 25: 639-641.
• Bawa, K. S. 2010. Monitoring systems outdated and protectionist. Nature, 466: 920 (Correspondence).
• Bawa, K. S. 2010. Our biodiversity, our life, our future. The Hindu, Energy and the Environment, August 2, 2010.
• Bawa, K. S. 2010. Cataloguing life in India: the taxonomic imperative. Current Science 98:151-153.
• Lele, S., P. Wilshusen, D. Brockington, R. Seidler, and K.S. Bawa. 2010. Beyond exclusion: alternative approaches to biodiversity conservation in the developing tropics. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2:1-7
• Bawa, K. S., L. P. Koh, T. M. Lee, J. Liu, P. S. Ramakrishnan, D. W. Yu, Y.-P. Zhang and P. H. Raven. 2010. China, India and the environment. Science 327:1457-1459.
• Bawa, K.S. Richard Primack and Meera Ommeen. 2010. Conservation Biology: A Primer for South Asia. Universities Press, Hyderabad.
• Jackson, L., U. Pascual, L. Brussard, P. de Ruiter and K.S. Bawa (eds.) Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes: Investing Without Losing Interest. Special Issue of Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, July 2007.
• Kadur, S and K.S. Bawa. 2005. Sahyadris: India’s Western Ghats. Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore, India. 245pp.
• Seidler, R. and K.S. Bawa (eds). 2004. Dimensions of Sustainable Development. UNESCO. ELOSS. http://www.eolss.net/E1-46B-toc.aspx
• Ganeshaiah, K. N., R. U. Shaanker, K. S. Bawa 2001(eds.). Tropical Ecosystems: Structure, Diversity and Human Welfare. New Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. 792 pp.
• Ganeshaiah, K. N., R. U. Shaanker, K. S. Bawa (eds.). 2001 Forest Genetic Resources: Status, Threats and Conservation Strategies. New Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. 317 pp.

Additional Information

Research Interests
I am interested in global change and biodiversity.  The overarching theme is to generate knowledge about the impact of land use and land cover change, climate change and human use of natural resources on biodiversity. I am particularly interested in developing new paradigms of conservation that take into account alleviation of poverty and institutions.  My research on climate change in the Eastern Himalayas is focused on modeling climate change, impact of climate change on biodiversity and agriculture , and development of adaptive strategies that assign a central role to local knowledge. Research  on sustainable use of ecosystem services including such provisioning services as non-timber forest products constitute an important element of the overall global change program.
I have recently led an initiative to define research priorities in tropical biology. I have also been a part of DIVERSITAS team that has developed a science plan for agrobiodiversity. At the regional level, I have led efforts to define research priorities in the Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot.
Since I founded the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), and cofounded the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in the Environment and Development (CISED), which later merged with ATREE, I am particularly interested in institutional building to foster conservation and sustainability science.
Finally, I still pursue my basic interests in plant population biology. I am currently writing a book, synthesizing my work on the impact of land use and climate change on genetics and reproductive traits of plants.

Brief Bio

Kamal Bawa is a Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. He has held Bullard, Cabot, and Giorgio Ruffolo Fellowships at Harvard University at various times. He has also been named a Guggenheim Fellow as well as a Pew Scholar in Conservation and the Environment. Kamal Bawa, has published more than 180 papers, and edited 10 books, monographs or special issues of journals. He is the editor-in-chief of Conservation and Society, an interdisciplinary journal in conservation, and also serves on the editorial boards of several other journals. He has served on many national and international advisory panels. He has been the President of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, and a member of the governing board of several foundations and non government organizations. Kamal Bawa is the Founder-President of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), a non-governmental organization devoted to research, policy analysis, and education in India. Kamal Bawa is a recipient of the highest awards from the two main professional societies in his field. In 2003, the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation  bestowed on him its highest honor by electing him as an Honorary Fellow.  The Society for Conservation Biology awarded him its Distinguished  Service Award in 2009.