Madhuri grew up in the coastal city of Chennai, looking for olive ridley turtles that nested on bustling urban beaches. After years of working in other landscapes such as hill forests and arid grasslands, she chose to do her doctoral dissertation on the political ecology of olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) conservation in Odisha. She continues to work on nature-society relations in inhabited spaces – in addition to the dynamics of conservation and development, she is also interested in sustainable tourism and climate change on the coasts.

Qualifications: PhD Conservation science and sustainability studies (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, 2018)

Email: madhuri.ramesh@dakshin.org