Profile: Puja has over fifteen years of experience in conservation and community development across marine, coastal, and terrestrial ecosystems in India. She focuses on developing practical, community-based solutions that protect biodiversity while supporting sustainable livelihoods. Early in her career, she worked on human–elephant conflict mitigation and alternative livelihoods in Assam, and on women’s empowerment and livelihood development in Karnataka. She also played a leading role in a landmark national campaign that led to India becoming the fourth country in the world to ban dolphinaria and the captivity of cetaceans in 2013. Her professional journey includes collaborations with IUCN India, WWF India, Oceans 5, FIAPO, and the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, contributing to marine and coastal conservation, blue economy planning, and policy advocacy.

In 2017, she founded Terra Conscious, a social enterprise in Goa that promotes ethical marine tourism and coastal stewardship. Its flagship initiatives—the Boat Operator Partnership Programme – promoting responsible dolphin-watching and sustainable livelihoods with local community partners, and the statewide Goa Marine Wildlife Stranding Response Network, developed with the Goa Forest Department, IUCN India, and Drishti Marine—continue to be sustained by these partners and local stakeholders. Her work has been featured across domestic and international media, and recognised through the Sanctuary Asia Wildlife Service Award (2018) and the Goa Women’s Leadership Award (2023). Puja is passionate about building partnerships between communities, conservation practitioners, and government agencies to enable community centered conservation action and social impact.