Mohan Seetharam

I have a doctorate in geography and several years of experience in agriculture, environment, and international development work. I have engaged with academic, business, government, and non-profit institutions and contributed to multidisciplinary projects based in south and southeast Asia, southern Africa, Australia, and the United States.

CONTACT

Mohan Seetharam, Ph.D.
Fellow
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment
Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur Post
Bangalore 560064 INDIA

Tel: +91 80 2363 5555 EXT: 308
Fax: +91 80 2353 0070

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My areas of topical expertise have included land use and land cover change, agriculture and natural resource management, climate change, adaptation and development. Technical proficiencies span GIS and remote sensing, multivariate and spatial statistical methods, survey and field research, and disaster risk and vulnerability assessment.

My current research and professional interests and activities can be grouped into:

  1. The development and use of geospatial tools for a wide range of activities under land cover mapping, land use planning, risk and vulnerability analysis, and probabilistic methods.
  2. Understanding the human dimensions of global environmental change, particularly in the context of human vulnerability and adaptation to existing or projected climate change and its associated impacts.
  3. Understanding and working towards sustainable and equitable forms of social and economic development.

EDUCATION

  • Clark University, Worcester, USA. 2007
    Ph.D. in Geography
  • Clark University, Worcester, USA. 2005
    M.A. in Geography
  • University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. 1996
    Bachelor of Science in Agriculture

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

  • Fellow: Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment, Bangalore (Current)
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate: Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, 2007
  • Teaching Assistant/Lab Supervisor: Environmental Information Systems, Clark University, 2006
  • Teaching Assistant: Decision Methods in Environmental Science and Management, Clark University, 2004
  • Teaching Assistant/Lab Supervisor: Digital Image Processing, Clark University. 2003 - 2005
  • Research Assistant: Food Security Assessment in Southeast Asia. Clark Labs - Idrisi Project, Worcester USA, and UN World Food Program. 2003
  • Research Assistant: Vulnerability Modeling for Food Security in Southern Africa, Marsh Institute, Worcester USA. 2002
  • Research Assistant: Carbon Offset Modeling, Clark University, Worcester, USA. 2001
  • Research Associate: Political Economy of Land Use Change. Institute for Social & Economic Change, Bangalore, India. 1999
  • Research Technician: GIS and Remote Sensing, French Institute, Pondicherry, India. 1998
  • Graduate Researcher: Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture, Crawley, Western Australia. 1997

PUBLICATIONS, REPORTS, AND INVITED PRESENTATIONS

  • M. Seetharam. 1996. Environmental Suitability Modeling of Industrial Hemp for Mediterranean Agriculture. Undergraduate Thesis. School of Agriculture, University of Western Australia. March 1996.
  • M. Seetharam. 1997. Soil Boron Tolerance of Selected Grain Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture. Project Report. Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture. Perth. March 1997.
  • M. Seetharam and B. R. Ramesh. 1998. Land Use and Land Cover Change in Western Ghats from 1977 to 1997. Karnataka Forest Department Workshop on Biodiversity, Bangalore, India. October, 1998.
  • B. R. Ramesh, M. H. Swaminath, and M. Seetharam. 1999. Strategies for the Conservation of Biodiversity in Western Ghats. My Forest 35 (1): 9-14.
  • M. Seetharam. 2005. Spatial Configurations of Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Case Study of Karnataka State, India. 6th Open Meeting of HDGEC, Bonn, October 9-13, 2005.
  • M. Seetharam. 2006. Geographical determinants of poverty and vulnerability in Karnataka, India. Invited presentation, Decision Centre for a Desert City, Arizona State University, Tempe, US. November 8, 2006.
  • A. Arunachalam, M. Seetharam, S. Roy, and K. Arunachalam. 2007. Shifting Agriculture: Land and Policy Issues, in Biodiversity Utilization and Conservation, Eds: A. Arunachalam and K. Arunachalam, Aavishkar Publishers, Jaipur. 2007. pp 97-108.
  • M. Seetharam. 2007. Geographical determinants of poverty and vulnerability in Karnataka, India. Doctoral Dissertation, Graduate School of Geography, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts.
  • M. Seetharam, B. Bolin, B. Pompeii, and P. Gober. 2008. Water Resources, Climate Change and Institutional Vulnerability: A Case Study of Phoenix, Arizona. Central Arizona - Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) Tenth Annual Poster Symposium. January 10, 2008. Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.
  • B. R. Ramesh, Mohan Seetharam, M. C. Guero, R. Michon. 2009. Assessment and Conservation of Forest Biodiversity in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, India. 1. General Introduction and Forest Land Cover and Land Use Changes (1977-1997). Pondy Papers in Ecology nr.6, IFP, 2009, pp. 1-64. Full text available online at: http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00408263/fr/
  • B. Bolin, M. Seetharam, B. Pompeii. Water Resources, Climate Change and Urban Vulnerability: A Case Study of Phoenix, Arizona. Local Environment 15 (3): 261-279.