1 of Lead India

[M Lal Dhondiyal]

October 26, 2007

Dipayan Dey

I hail from Deoghar, a small town of Bihar with a serene natural beauty and folklore. After graduating in Plant Sciences from here I had opted for higher studies in Plant Biotechnology and had to leave for metropolis. Though my career started as a postgraduate teacher of biology in reputed higher secondary schools of India, I felt privileged to serve the University of Delhi as an associate professor in Plant Sciences for it's only out of Campus College in Bhutan. My assignment in Bhutan was a turning point of my life. The pristine environment of Eastern Himalayas groomed me as an ecologist and extended with opportunities to address environmental problems through community based participatory approach. My works on fresh water high altitude lakes of Eastern Himalayas earned me the first international recognition in 9 th International Lake Conference in Otsu, Japan.

Conservation and restitution of agroenvironments in different community based projects under the aegis of UNEP, UNDP, UNFPA, Bhutan Trust Fund, British Ecological Society, and Royal Society for Protection of Nature enriched me with a commendable experience and exposure. Awards and grants from Society for Wetland Scientists International, International Society for Restoration Ecology and FAO (UN) not only gave me an international exposure but also inspired me to be committed to the cause of environment in global south. My research priorities endorsed anthropocentric management approaches integrating reciprocal community participation and adaptive techniques. The prime problem of balancing socioeconomic development together with environmental conservation motivated me to work in a way that complements poverty alleviation with conservation objectives. I had thought of integrating technological innovations with traditional ecological knowledge and implement the same through community based programmes. Such effort in undertaking a risk assessment study on perilous glacial lake outburst flood earned me the most coveted Kasumiguara International Award in 10 th International Lake conference at Chicago. Further a similar research on sustainable development in coastal wetlands of sundarban in India helped me avail a prestigious fellowship from United Nations University to work with the International Coastal Research Center at Iwate Japan. All these achievements were demanding grassroots' implementation in the Indian Ecoregion. My humble endeavor started with the installation of a NGO in the name of South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE). We started working on environment and community through equity, partnership and participation. We initiated the concept of Biorights as a financial tool. Thoughts spread like wild fire, Bhutan to India, Nepal and Bangladesh. More recently in the International Disaster Reduction Conference at Davos Switzerland, delegation from Pakistan also showed interest in joining hands with this south Asian network. Back at home in India, my work encouraged a handful of youngsters to restore the East Kolkata Wetlands, the only Ramsar site of West Bengal. Active participation and partnership came up from NABARD and Rotary International. Ramsar Secretariat acknowledged our efforts in restoration of this site. SAFE has now become a green movement. People are evolving through this green mission. I dream of a green empowerment for the commons in global south.