Supervisor: Ravikanth G.

I study what makes landscapes valuable — ecologically, economically, and culturally — and who gets to define that value. My doctoral research in the BR Hills examines how communities perceive and negotiate ecosystem services beyond market metrics. I integrate participatory approaches, biophysical assessment, and economic valuation tools (used critically) to analyse how land-use decisions and ecosystem functions shape one another.

Previously, I worked on coastal ecosystem services in the Gulf of Mannar and groundwater governance in Coimbatore — contexts where livelihoods and ecological systems are tightly interwoven. Trained in agricultural economics, I now approach numbers cautiously, often interrogating their assumptions before applying them. My research focuses on ecosystem service valuation in agrarian landscapes, agroecological pest regulation, biodiversity-mediated services, and environmental governance in forest–agriculture ecotones.

Outside research, I spend time hiking, painting, and occasionally attempting to sing in tune.

Ongoing Project:

• SAGE PhD Fellow, echo network Valuation Project (2024–2027) Ecosystem services and land-use valuation in BR Hills ( Nordic Centre of India & ATV, Denmark).

Awards / Fellowships / Roles:

• Young Ecosystem Services Specialists (YESS) Network – Executive Committee Member (2025–Present).
• Best Paper Award — ICSSR Conference on Emerging Issues in the Blue Economy, IIT Madras.
• Winner — Swissnex NextGen Open Call (Concept: The Soil Embassy).
• Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement — Student Ambassador (2026).

Recent Publications

• Saha, D., Kumar, D.S., Krishnan, P., Mukherjee, R., Vidhyavathi, A., Maheswari, M., Vijayabhama, M. (2024). Balancing Nets and Lives: A Socio-Ecological Analysis of Sustainable Fisheries on the Indian Coast of the Gulf of Mannar. Sustainability, 16(20), 8738. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16208738

Book Chapters

• Saha, D. (2025). Restoring Drylands: Policy Pathways, Governance, and Stakeholder Synergy for Ecosystem Revival. In: Land Restoration Through Ecosystem-Based Approach. Springer, Singapore.
• Chapter 8. Socioeconomic Aspects of Natural Resource Management in the Himalayan Ecosystem. In: Natural Resource Management: A Modern-Day Necessity. Rubicon Publishers (UK).

Popular Article

• After the NGT Order, Safeguards Will Now Decide Great Nicobar’s Future — Down To Earth (Governance).