Madhuri Ramesh
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- Nature-society relations
- Multispecies studies
- Conservation social science
- Science writing
Biography
Madhuri works on nature-society relations in different landscapes, especially biodiversity conservation. She began by studying the ecology of rare reptiles but with field experience, became interested in the conservation social sciences. Her research has spanned diverse landscapes ranging from hill forests in the Western Ghats to arid grasslands in the Thar desert and densely inhabited islands in the Bay of Bengal. Her doctoral work focussed on the political ecology of marine turtle conservation in Odisha. She is also interested in curriculum design for conservation practice and sustainable development.
Madhuri has a master’s in Ecology from the Salim School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences (Pondicherry University) and a PhD in Conservation Science and Sustainability Studies from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (Manipal Academy of Higher Education).
Courses
Research Methods for Development Practice
Develop skills for designing and conducting social research
Environmental Perspectives for Development
Understand how ecological systems and development intersect
Forests, Governance and Livelihoods
Understanding the major historical and contemporary policies/laws that have shaped forest-based livelihoods.
Professional Development Courses
Strategies for Effective CSR
Broadening the narrow focus on ‘maximising shareholder benefits’ to a larger sense of social responsibility
Ecological monitoring for development interventions
This four-day residential workshop will introduce participants to simple, low-cost techniques that can be used for ecological monitoring and discuss how they can be used to inform development interventions at the local level.
Sustainable Development: From Ideas to Action
Publications
Research Articles
- Ramesh, M. 2025. The ontological choreography of conservation practice at a marine turtle rookery in India. Conservation and Society 23(1): 1 – 11.
- Ramesh, M., Patil, S., and Pradyumna, A. 2025. An Indian perspective on One Health prescriptions. Ecology Economy & Society — the INSEE Journal 8(1): 5 – 11. https://doi.org/10.37773/ees.v8i1.1481
- Pradyumna, A., Patil, S. and Ramesh, M. 2023. Considering vulnerable communities in climate mitigation and adaptation plans, India. Bulletin of the World Health Organization: BLT.22.288846
- Ramesh, M. and Bijoor, S. 2021. Management of Marine Protected Areas in India. Economic & Political Weekly Vol LVI (25): 35 – 41.
- Ramesh, M. 2021. Frenemies: Marine turtle conservation and economic development in the Rushikulya coast, eastern India. Journal of South Asian Development 16(1): 33 – 53.
- Ramesh, M. 2020. A call to redefine ‘the field’ in nature conservation studies in India. Ecology, Economy and Society – INSEE Journal.
- Oommen, M. A. Cooney, R., Ramesh, M., Archer, M., Brockington, D., Büscher, B., Fletcher, R., Natusch, D. J. D., Vanak, A. T., Webb, G., and Shanker. K. 2019. The fatal flaws of compassionate conservation. Conservation Biology
- Oommen, M. A. and Ramesh, M. 2019. Tides of change in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Ecology, Economy and Society — the INSEE Journal 2(1): 145 – 149.
- Ramesh, M. and Namboothri, N. 2018. Maximum sustainable yield: a myth and its manifold effects. Economic & Political Weekly 53: 58 – 63.
- Bijoor, S., Sharma, D., and Ramesh, M. 2018. Management of Marine Protected Areas in the Andaman Islands: Two case studies. Technical report. Dakshin Foundation, Bangalore. 40 pp.
- Ramesh, M. 2018. Conservation amidst development in a nonequilibrium environment: a study of marine turtles in Odisha, India. PhD dissertation: Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment and Manipal Academy of Higher Education.
- Ramesh, M. and Shanker, K. 2018. From fishe to flagship. Seminar 702: 37 – 40.
- Muralidharan, R. and Ramesh, M. 2017. Marine protected areas in India: Protection for whom? In: Occupation of the Coast: Blue Economy in India. Programme for Social Action, New Delhi. 102 – 104.
- Ramesh, M. and Rai, N. 2017. Trading on conservation: A marine protected area as an ecological fix. Marine Policy 82: 25 – 31.
- Ramesh, M. and Sankaran, R. 2013. Natural history of the Indian spiny-tailed lizard Uromastyx hardwickii In: Faunal Heritage of Rajasthan, India. (Eds: BK Sharma, S Kulshreshtha and AR Rahmani). Vol I: 295 – 310. Springer, New York.
- Deepak, V., Ramesh, M., Bhupathy, S. and Vasudevan, K. 2011. Indotestudo travancorica (Boulenger, 1907) – Travancore tortoise. In: Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A compilation project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (Eds: Rhodin et al). Chelonian Research Monographs No.5, pp 054.1−054.6.
- Ramesh, M. 2008. Relative abundance and morphometrics of the Travancore tortoise Indotestudo travancorica in the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, southern Western Ghats, India. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 7:108 – 113.
- Ramesh, M. and Parthasarathy, N. 2006. A note on the diet of the Travancore tortoise (Indotestudo travancorica). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 103 (1): 106.
- Ramesh, M. 2004. Long distance dispersal by a Travancore tortoise (Indotestudo travancorica). Hamadryad 27 (1): 105.
- Ramesh, M. 2002. Observations on the Travancore tortoise (Indotestudo forstenii) in captivity. ReptileRap, South Asian Reptile Network Newsletter 4: 4.
Books
- Ramesh, M. and Chandralekha C. 2024. From sea to surwa: Recipes from Andaman Islands. Azim Premji University, Bengaluru.
- Ramesh, M. and Chandi, M. 2017. Walking is a way of knowing: In a Kadar forest. Tara Books, Chennai.
- Chandi, M. and Ramesh, M. 2017. Speaking to an elephant and other tales from the Kadar. Tara Books, Chennai.
Outreach articles
- Ramesh, M. 2023. “For anyone who has an eye and a brain”. Current Conservation
- Ramesh, M. 2022. The fruit of others’ labours. Current Conservation 16.3
Ramesh, M. 2022. “The older it grows, the more it seems to become agreeable.” Current Conservation 16.2