Asha Rajvanshi

Biography

After acquiring a doctoral degree through my research work on the impacts of limestone mining and kilning in Doon Valley, I joined the Institute’s faculty in 1986. In my professional career at WII since then, I have been instrumental in promoting environmental impact assessment (EIA) both as an academic discipline and as a decision support tool for strengthening wildlife conservation efforts. I have been actively associated with the creation of various knowledge transfer and learning platforms and have led numerous EIA studies in all the key development sectors.My professional interests range from re-tooling impact assessment for integrating biodiversity and human well-being to promoting strategic assessment and economic valuation approaches in impact assessment. I am actively contributing to the development of mainstreaming tools and guidance for promoting biodiversity-inclusive impact assessment and leading the national, regional and global capacity development initiatives in EIA. I have been invited by several international organizations such as UNEP, the World Bank, IAIA, Wetlands International, the Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment and the Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana to provide professional support in development of best practices in EIA. I have also been one of the contributors to the global Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. I serve on several advisory and professional bodies of the MoEF and other institutions for enhancing the role of EIA in decision-making. I am currently the Chair, Biodiversity Section of International Association of Impact Assessment (IAIA).

Research Interest

EIA and biodiversity-inclusive impact assessment; public participation, social impact assessment; restoration ecology; economic valuation of ecosystem services; strategic environmental assessment (SEA)