Ajay Immanuel Gonji
PhD Scholar, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University Delhi
- Member directory
- India
I am currently working as a researcher at Wildlife Institute of India and the project aims at developing a landscape management plan for tiger conservation in the central parts of India. Previously, I have worked in a wetland restoration project and also, I studied Nilgai in urban parks and rural areas in Delhi. I graduated from School of Human Ecology, Ambedkar University Delhi in 2016. My academic interests are human wildlife interfaces, animal geography and representation, conservation social science, socio-economics, pastoralism, landscape ecology and population ecology.
I am presently the conservation scientist at the Snow Leopard Trust. As a part of my role, I support research and conservation activities of the Trust across the snow leopard range. My research interests lie in understanding human-nature relationships and community governance. For my PhD, I worked on how people use, value and manage ecosystem services across the snow leopard range. I also have experience in community-based conservation. I am also a fellow on the assessment of multiple values for nature conducted by the Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity (IPBES).
My background is mainly in species conservation, education and capacity development. I researched mother-young interactions in gorillas and chimpanzees, in captivity and the wild. After that, I worked for three years in Indonesia, where I developed and implemented youth ambassador and community engagement programmes on local and regional scales. I work as Community Manager at WildHub since 2020, and I am on the Advisory Board of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent where I obtained my PhD on capacity development for conservation in 2022.
I’m a conservation professional with a strong commitment to protecting wildlife and their habitats. I have a Bachelor’s in Geography from Delhi University and a Master’s in Environment and Development from Ambedkar University. Over the years, I’ve worked with organizations like WWF India and the Centre for Urban Ecology and Sustainability, and I’m currently at Wildlife Trust of India. My work focuses on key issues such as human-wildlife conflict, habitat management, and ensuring connectivity in landscapes affected by infrastructure.
In my free time, I enjoy traveling and exploring new places, which helps me stay connected to the natural world and find fresh perspectives for my work.
