Land Restoration Through Ecosystem-Based Approach

Dr. Y. D. Imran Khan is a Senior Researcher and Thematic Lead (Ecology) at the WOTR-Centre for Resilience Studies (W-CReS), Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) in Pune, India. He holds a Ph.D. in Zoology (with a specialisation in Ecology) from Bangalore University, Bengaluru, and an M.Sc. in Zoology from Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Anantapur. Before joining WOTR, Dr. Khan worked at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) in Bengaluru, the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR) in Hyderabad, and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai. His areas of interest include conservation biology, socio-ecology, rural livelihoods, and watershed Ecology. Dr. Khan collaborates with interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams of scholars from various national and international organisations to integrate ecological and social science approaches in assessing the impact of policy and behavioural changes.

Dr. Saurabh Purohit is currently working as a Senior Researcher (Ecology) at the WOTR-Centre for Resilient Ecosystem (W-CReS), Watershed Organization Trust (WOTR), Pune. He has over ten years of research expertise in natural resource management from the Western Himalayan region to the foothills of Western Ghats. He earned both a Master's and a PhD degree in Forestry from the Forest Research Institute (Deemed to be University). His research was conducted at the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), which is affiliated with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Dehradun. In his current role, Dr. Purohit is working on using nature-based solutions to increase the resilience of rural communities in the semi-arid landscape of India. His specialization includes a wide range of subjects, including Nature-based Solutions, carbon sequestration, sustainable forest practices, ecological niche modelling, remote sensing, GIS, and natural resource management.

Prof. Jibrin Mohammed Jibrin is a Professor of Soil Science with over thirty years of experience in agriculture and rural development. His public service started in 1998 as an Extension Specialist with the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services in Nigeria. He is currently the Director of the World Bank-funded Africa Centre of Excellence in Dryland Agriculture (CDA), President of the Soil Science Society of Nigeria, and President of the Food for West Africa (Food4WA) Network. Professor Jibrin has published several scientific articles in national and international peer-reviewed journals and has contributed to book chapters and edited conference proceedings. His research focuses on plant nutrient management in semi-arid environments, simulating the effects of future climates and soil management on crop yields in semi-arid areas, and natural resource management in drylands. 
 
Mr. Madhav D. Gholkar, a Thematic Lead (Climate Resilient Agriculture) at W-CReS (WOTR Centre for Resilience Studies), possesses over 16 years of professional expertise in climate-resilient agricultural practices, GHG emission assessment, energy and carbon exchanges, valuation of ecosystem services, knowledge transfer, and capacity building of stakeholders for ecosystem-based adaptation. He holds a Master's degree in Agriculture Systems and Engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, and a Bachelor's degree in Agricultural Engineering from Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV), Maharashtra, India. At WOTR, his focus is on implementation and applied research in sustainable agriculture and allied sectors. Before joining WOTR, he worked at the Space Applications Centre (SAC, ISRO), specialising in remote sensing (RS) and GIS applications in agriculture, and at GVK Bio-Sciences Pvt. Ltd., where he focused on environmental fate modeling of agrochemicals. He has also presented his work at national and international events, including UNCCD COP14 and the ADB conference.