Mathivanan .M belongs to Zamin Singampatti village, Ambasamudram Taluk of Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu. He works as a Senior Research Associate at Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) – Agasthyamalai Community Conservation Centre (ACCC), Manimutharu. He has been working in the field of biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services and human well-being in various capacities from project assistant, project coordinator and project leader. He has wide experience in native trees’ nursery development, tree planting and documentation of trees. Over a decade he is coordinating the Tamiraparani Waterbird Count the citizen science programme in the landscape that created great awareness in wetland and waterbird conservation among the local public. He also has good capacity in applying provisions of the Biological Diversity Act 2002 like Biodiversity Management Committee, People’s Biodiversity Register and Biodiversity Heritage Site.

His work has taken him to every nook and corner of the integrated Tirunelveli district and has a good comprehension of the ecological and social changes in the landscape. He is working with diverse stakeholders like Government officials, farmers, pastoralists, daily wage labours, NTFP collectors, tribes, writers, students, business people etc., which helps him to initiate and implement new projects with great efficiency and ease.