News Center

Jan. 22, 2013 – Sharad Lele, a visiting lecturer in environmental studies at Allegheny College, will present a talk titled “Engaging Climate Change in India: Challenge or Opportunity?” at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 29 in the auditorium in Quigley Hall on the Allegheny campus. The public is invited.

An internationally recognized environmentalist with more than 25 years in the field, Lele is senior fellow and convenor at the Centre for Environment and Development of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment in Bangalore.

In addition to his public lecture, Lele will teach a short course to Allegheny students. That course, “The Forest Question in India: Ecology, Economics and Governance,” examines the complexities and debates in contemporary forest management in India.

A highly interdisciplinary environmental analyst who has published in leading journals, Lele tries to bridge ecology, economics and political science in understanding the pathways to environmentally sustainable and socially just development.

His work has focused on issues in forest and water resource management in South Asia. His ongoing research focuses on ecosystem services under different forest governance regimes in Odisha, pricing and marketing of non-timber forest products and the impact of climate change on water management in rapidly urbanizing basins.

Lele’s visit to Allegheny College is made possible through a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the development and implementation of the college’s leadership initiative in global environmental sustainability.

Photo of Sharad Lele courtesy of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment.