Dr. Ganesan Balachander who as member of the Governing Board was persuaded to step in as Director for 3 years on August 15, 2012 will be returning to Board as of January 31, 2016.

Dr. Balachander has led ATREE for 3 years with distinction, enhancing the profile of ATREE as a premier research center in Asia. He played a key role in securing institutional support from the Royal Norwegian Government, Oak Foundation, and Barr Foundation. He initiated new major research projects - Sentinel Landscapes, USAID-supported Sustainable Management of Forests project, and a scoping study on Dal Lake with UNDP support.  Dr. Balachander oversaw the initiation of a new Climate Change programme at ATREE with a specific focus on mitigation. He improved ATREE’s governance policies, and secured additional land to meet ATREE’s space needs for the future. He also oversaw the construction of a new wing of ATREE’s main building.  Dr. Balachander found ways to sustain India Biodiversity Portal, and the international journal Conservation and Society that ATREE hosts on behalf of two different consortia. Overall, his leadership has allowed ATREE to take new initiatives, strengthen its management structures, and expand infrastructure. Thus ATREE is fortunate that  Dr. Ganesan Balachander will remain associated with ATREE as a member of its Governing Board.

The Governing Board of ATREE has appointed Dr. Kartik Shanker as the new Director. Dr. Shanker will start serving as the Director on February1, 2016.  He has been Associate Professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Founder Trustee of Dakshin Foundation. At IISc, he indulged in his fascination for ecology and evolution, working with students on frogs, reptiles, birds, plants, reef fish and other marine fauna. At Dakshin, which works largely on coastal and marine conservation and livelihoods, he was involved in projects that seek to build conservation partnerships with local communities through community based monitoring and management programmes.

Kartik has also worked on the biology and conservation of sea turtles for the last 25 years, and has ongoing projects on olive ridley turtles in Orissa, and leather back turtles in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He has started newsletters and websites and conducted international symposiums on sea turtles, and established regional and national networks for coastal and marine conservation. He has also served as the president of the International Sea Turtle Society and regional vice-chair of the IUCN/SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group.

He is the founding editor of the magazine, Current Conservation, and the author of the book ‘From Soup to Superstar’, a historical account of sea turtle conservation in India.

The Governing Board, faculty and staff of  ATREE welcome Dr. Kartik Shankar, and look forward to working with  Dr. Shankar in realizing the goals of  ATREE.

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