Harini Nagendra

Harini Nagendra is a Professor of Sustainability and Director of the Research Centre at Azim Premji University in Bangalore, India. With over 25 years of experience, she specializes in urban ecology, forest conservation, and sustainability in the Global South. Her interdisciplinary research combines satellite remote sensing, field studies of biodiversity, archival research, and community interviews to examine human-nature interactions in forests and cities. Nagendra has authored over 150 scientific publications and several books, including "Nature in the City: Bengaluru in the Past, Present, and Future" and "Cities and Canopies: Trees of Indian Cities." She has received numerous accolades, including the 2013 Elinor Ostrom Senior Scholar Award and the 2006 Cozzarelli Prize from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. Nagendra has contributed to international research efforts, serving on the Steering Committee of the Programme for Ecosystem Change and Society and as a Lead Author for the 5th IPCC Report - Working Group III. At Azim Premji University, she leads the Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability and teaches courses on ecology, development, sustainability, and remote sensing. Her work aims to understand the factors shaping social-ecological sustainability in South Asian contexts and address the global crisis of sustainability.