Qualifications:

• Bachelors in Zoology, Madras Christian College, Chennai, 2022
• Masters in Environmental Studies in Conservation Practice, ATREE, Bengaluru, 2024

Email: ayiswarya@dakshin.org

Profile: Ayiswarya is an early-career conservation practitioner who enjoys exploring the intricate relationships and behaviors among different forms of life as they evolve. During her Master’s at ATREE, she recognised the importance of interdisciplinarity in conservation and developed a keen interest in working at the interface of ecology and sociology.

Her journey has taken her from studying animal behavior to engaging with local communities, and throughout this journey, she has developed a profound respect for the traditional knowledge and practices that sustain livelihoods and safeguard ecosystems. She is particularly interested in how diverse knowledge systems and institutions can be integrated to develop practical, long-term conservation strategies that are both ecologically sustainable and socially just.

For her Master’s thesis, she worked with the Dakshin Foundation to examine the potential for co-management in Blue Swimming Crab fisheries in Palk Bay. Through this work, she gained deeper insights into how collaborative governance approaches can contribute to sustainable fisheries and positive conservation outcomes. She currently works under Dakshin’s Sustainable Fisheries Programme, continuing to engage with these themes in practice.

Publications: 

Ranjith, A. P., Ayiswarya, S. V., Niveditha, B., & Priyadarsanan, D. R. (2023). A new species of Aphanogmus Thomson (Hymenoptera: Ceraphronidae) parasitising predatory cecidomyiids in mite-induced galls of Pongamia pinnata in India. Journal of Natural History, 57(41–44), 1963–1971.