ATREE@25

Creating Knowledge for Sustainable & Equitable Development

T Ganesh, ATREE 

Film- Rainforest Dynamics in a Changing World  (2 min)
"Tri-decadal phenology monitoring of evergreen forest trees: some insights and challenges"

Priyadarsanan Dharmarajan, ATREE

Film- Edible Insects (1 min)
“Yuk to Yum! Edible insects as future food”

Rendezvous with Umesh Srinivasan, IISc

“Mainstreaming biodiversity conservation and sustainable use and averting the current biodiversity crisis”
Prabhakar Priyadarshi, IFS, DCF, Bannergatta National Park 
Marianne Manuel, Dakshin Foundation
Nachiket Kelkar, Wildlife Conservation Trust

Why are some species found everywhere, and why does it matter?
by Chetan Misher, Ankila Hiremath, Milind Bunyan

Book Release: by V B Mathur, Chairman, National Biodiversity Authority

A Field Guide to Fishes of Vembanad by Anu Radhakrishnan, Maneeja Murali, Bibin Xavier & Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan

Ullam: A book for school students around Vembanad to know the life and lives around them by  Maneeja Murali & Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan

Checklist of India's Plants

Conversations
Moderator: R Ganesan, Senior Fellow, ATREE

KN Ganeshaiah, School of Ecology and Conservation, University of Agricultural Sciences
Suri Sehgal, S M Sehgal Foundation (Online)
Peter H. Raven, Missouri Botanical Garden (Online)
Kanchi N. Gandhi, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries (Online)
V B Mathur, Chairman, National Biodiversity Authority

Book Release
KN Ganeshaiah, School of Ecology and Conservation, University of Agricultural Sciences
Kamaljit S Bawa, Founder-President & Chair, ATREE
P. Balaram, Co-Chair, ATREE, Former Director, IISc Bangalore
V B Mathur, Chairman, National Biodiversity Authority
M Sanjappa, Emeritus Scientist, University of Agricultural Sciences

Portal Launch
K. VijayRaghavan, Former Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India

Reflections
Kailash BR, ATREE
Srikanta, eKisaan

Cultural programme from our Community Conservation Centre landscapes

Villupaattu: Tirunelveli has a unique Villisai style that is very popular in temple festivals. Vil, kudam, udukkai, chalra, and kattai are the five key instruments in a traditional villupaattu performance. The pulavar or the lead singer narrates the story of the deity with songs while playing the villu (bow) with a veesu koal (a stick) that helps the bells on the bow to chime.
Introduction: M. Mathivanan

Kaniyan Koothu: Kaniyan Koothu is performed exclusively by the Kaniyan tribe from the southern districts of Tamil Nadu during temple festivals. Their performance has evolved in praise of Sudalai Madan and Amman deities found in many forms along the banks of Tamiraparani. Two men in the guise of women dance vigorously to the rhythm of ‘magudam,’ a specialised percussion instrument, and clash cymbals.
Introduction: M. Mathivanan

Chavittu Nadakam: Chavittu Nadakam is a highly colorful Latin Christian classical art form originated in Ernakulam, Kerala, India. Fort Kochi is commonly believed to be the birthplace of Chavittu Nadakam. It is noted for its attractive make-up of characters, their elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the rhythmic playback music and complementary percussion. This art form highly resembles a European opera.
Introduction: Geetha Wilson

Gorukana: The Solega Pantheon includes numerous Gods, Goddesses, warrior beings, and deities associated with waterfalls and sacred rocks. At the time of the important Roti (bread) festival, the Solega dance the Gorukana that includes verses on numerous subjects including birds, rain, Gods and Goddesses, honey bees, and  animals such as gaurs, tigers, elephants and bears. 'Goru goru' represents the sound of the wind blowing through the forests of the Biligiriranga Hills. 'Kana' is the Solega word for evergreen forest.
Introduction: Made Gowda

Welcome Note - Vamsidhar Pothula, ATREE

Rendezvous with Anindya Sinha

“Moving towards sustainability in urbanscapes”
Annapurna Kamath, Satya Foundation
Chandni Singh, IIHS
HS Sudhira, Gubbi Labs
Rinan Shah, ATREE

Rendezvous with Jagdish Krishnaswamy, Indian Institute for Human Settlements

Vishnu Venugopal, IAS, District collector, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu
Priyanka Jamwal, ATREE 
Sneha Shahi, ATREE
Siddhartha Krishnan, ATREE

Siang Valley expedition

Film- Highlights of Siang (1 min)

Sandesh Kadur in conversation with:
Rajkamal Goswami, ATREE
Aravind Madhyastha, ATREE
Rengaian Ganesan, ATREE
Priyadarsanan Dharmarajan, ATREE
Jagdish Krishnaswamy, IIHS
Vivek Ramachandran, NCBS
Priya Singh, Felis
Nilanjan Mukherjee, Felis

Book release by
Sandesh Kadur
Snakes and Lizards of the Sky Islands of the Western Ghats
by Deepak V, Surya Narayanan, Sandeep Das, Rajkumar KP, Saunak Pal, Jason D Gerard & David J Gower

Cafe Controversial
Note: Pre-registration is mandatory to participate in these discussions.

Café Compassion:  To feed or not to feed animals?
Should people feed animals that are not directly under their care? Every year, people spend crores of rupees buying tonnes of food exclusively to feed animals, either as an act of charity, devotion or for compassionate reasons. Is this feeding good for the animals themselves? Are there both societal and ecological costs? Who benefits, who loses? Should feeding be banned or, is it our constitutional duty? Listen to our panellists dive deep into this controversial topic, that is bound to generate a lot of heat!
Moderator: Neha Panchamia, RESQ Charitable Trust
Speakers: Abi Vanak, ATREE; Nandita Subbarao, Civic Welfarist

Cafe Vriksha:  To plant or not to plant trees?
Many environmental movements have succeeded in invoking public consciousness for protecting forests, reviving rivers or restoring soils which have also triggered critical scientific and public policy attention. However, some recent restoration initiatives involving mass tree planting have gained immense popularity but they are scientifically flawed. Our forests, soils and river flows have been depleting and efforts to restore these are necessary - but with rigorous scientific enquiry suited for each type of agro-ecological condition. So is planting trees always the right way forward?
Moderator: Shrinivas Badiger, ATREE
Speakers: Anand M Osuri, NCF; Jayashree Ratnam, NCBS; Durgesh Agrahari, SayTrees, Dipika Goyal Bajpai, IFS, DCF, Gadag Division, Karnataka

Cafe Organic:  To turn or not to turn organic?
Critics argue that organic agriculture is inefficient, requiring more land than conventional al agriculture to yield the same amount of food. Proponents have countered that increasing research could reduce the yield gap, and organic agriculture generates environmental, health and socioeconomic co-benefits. Further, large monoculture agriculture is vulnerable to pests in a way that integrated organic farms aren't and will lead us down a path of an escalating battle against nature that we will eventually lose.
Moderator: Veena Srinivasan, ATREE
Speakers:  Kavitha Kuruganti, ASHA Kisan Swaraj Network; KM Sreekumar, Kerala Agricultural University; Nirmalya Chatterjee, ATREE

Announcement - Ms. Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, Co-founder & Director, EkStep Foundation

In closing - Moving forward
P. Balaram, Co-Chair, ATREE, Former Director, IISc Bangalore
Ms. Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, Co-founder & Director, EkStep Foundation
Kamaljit S Bawa, Founder-President & Chair, ATREE

Closing Remarks - Vote of thanks