Nitin D Rai

Research interests

I am a political ecologist conducting most of my research in the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve. My research questions are: How do issues of power get implicated in conservation efforts? How is knowledge produced and why are certain forms of knowledge privileged over others? My work aims to challenge current narratives that view nature as static and human presence in forests as being inimical to biodiversity. My more recent work critically analyses ongoing efforts to economically value tiger reserves, the increasing emphasis on wildlife population estimation methods, and the use of technology for surveillance and monitoring. My work is centrally focused on how modern conservation approaches and the expropriation of forests for wildlife conservation are affecting the livelihoods of people. I am also an editor of the journal Conservation and Society.