Ecological monitoring for development interventions November 2026 Batch
This four-day residential workshop introduces participants to simple, low-cost ecological monitoring techniques and their use in informing local development interventions.
Why this course?
Many development projects are influenced by the ecological setting in which they are implemented or the natural resources they draw on. For instance, the right to water is not only about assured access to a certain volume of water but it also includes the idea of safe water, i.e., water of a quality that is fit for human use and consumption. In other words, the quality and health of ecological resources are as important as access and control of the resources. However, resources such as the weather, soil, water and vegetation are often taken for granted in the framing and monitoring of development projects.
Therefore, this 4‑day residential workshop aims to bridge the knowledge and skill gap in ground-level assessment and monitoring of ecological parameters. The workshop will provide a foundational understanding of how to broadly assess the ecological settings in which your project is located, as well as how to identify and monitor certain key variables, for better outcomes. In other words, this workshop will enable participants to integrate ecological considerations into the design and implementation of their development projects. It will focus on simple, low-cost field and lab techniques that can be used for ecological monitoring and the scope for community participation in these activities.
The participants will also be developing a framework for capturing specific ecological parameters relevant for their organisation’s work. The framework would be developed to reflect the organisation’s thematic areas of work in the geographies they are intervening in or plan to intervene.
What will you learn?
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Explain how ecological monitoring can add value to development interventions
- Collect baseline data on weather, soil, water and vegetation
- Carry out simple analysis and interpretation of the baseline data
- Design a data sheet for monitoring ecological parameters within a specific development intervention
Eligibility
This residential workshop is designed for development professionals who have 2 to 5 years of experience. Those working on holistic development interventions related to conservation and sustainable use of natural resources or sustainable livelihoods, including adaptation to climate change, will find this particularly useful.
Candidates are expected to have a working knowledge of Excel (how to make tables and graphs) and English; they will need to bring their own laptops.
Medium of instruction
English
Day 1
- –
Value of Ecological Monitoring (Forenoon)
1. What is ecological monitoring? How can it add value to development interventions?
2. Concepts and variable for monitoring local weather conditions.
Campus walk: Campus Sustainability Initiatives (Afternoon)
Day 2
- –
Vegetation monitoring (Forenoon)
1. What are the concepts and variables involved in monitoring vegetation?
a. Practicum: Monitoring for herbs, shrubs and trees b. Simulation exercise: Calculating abundance, density, dominance, etc. Drinking water provisioning (Afternoon) 2. How do we develop a framework for monitoring water provisioning? a. Water monitoring - concepts, variables and datasheet design
Day 3
- –
Soil monitoring (Forenoon)
1. How do we build a framework for holistically assessing soil quality? a. Soil monitoring - concepts, variables and datasheet design Practicum (Afternoon) Soil and water tests (Laboratory session)
Day 4
- –
Integrating Social and Ecological Monitoring in development interventions (Forenoon)
Ideas for the future & presentation of certificates (Afternoon)
Certificate
Participants will be awarded a certificate of participation if they attend at least three days of the workshop and complete the practicums.
Selected candidates will be informed about the payment process by 10 Oct 2026
Last date for payment of fees is 30 Oct 2026. The decision of the University will be final.
For any queries, please write to: ecol.monitoring@apu.edu.in
Course Faculty
-
Aahana Ganguly
She has worked at the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) in the US-Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA) as a scientist developing engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) for radiotherapy enhancement and tumour targeting before joining the University. Her work was focused on understanding structure-function relationships of engineered nanomaterials in complex biological environments. Much of this work was…
-
Gautam Ganapathy
Gautam Ganapathy works on the relationship between water and society, especially the intersection of ecology, politics and technology.
-
Madhuri Ramesh
Madhuri Ramesh works on nature-society interactions, inclusive conservation and nature-based livelihoods.
-
Manjula M
Manjula M works on the ecological, social and economic dimensions of rural livelihoods especially sustainable agriculture and conservation of natural resources.
-
Pijush Kumar Dutta
Pijush Kumar works on community-based natural resource management and conservation-linked livelihoods.
-
Sham N Kashyap
Sham is a faculty member with over 15 years of experience in the policy and governance space, largely in the state of Karnataka. He has worked in the areas of Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs), public health, sanitation and agriculture and has led research projects and evaluation and monitoring studies. He has also briefly served as…
-
Shaurabh Anand
Shaurabh Anand is an ecologist, broadly interested in understanding human-wildlife interactions and their consequences for both humans and wildlife. His latest research work focuses on human-primate interactions and their drivers in the different geographies of India.
Fee Structure
| INR 4180 | Fees for partner organisations: For tuition and accommodation (including GST) |
|---|---|
| INR 8000 | Fees for others: For tuition and accommodation (including GST) |
Food: Breakfast and meals are available at the cafeteria on direct payment basis.
Approximately INR 225/- will suffice for a breakfast and two meals per person per day.