Climate Change at Keystone

In the Anthropocene, nothing is permanent – countless forms of life are facing extinction before being discovered or studied, climate crisis-induced events are changing unpredictably, and so are impacts on people. The Climate Change programme seeks to raise awareness, innovate nature-based, bottom-up solutions and study local ecosystem changes at the grassroots level, focusing on the perspectives of indigenous people and local communities (IPLC) in the Nilgiris and beyond.

Components

We aim to promote a deeper understanding of the climate crisis at the local level, involving communities in practical learning and climate action, training women in rural areas to document and study changes in their neighbouring ecosystems.

Research in Ecology

Pioneering research on local ecosystem changes led by indigenous and rural citizens bringing together traditional ecological knowledge and scientific research methods.

Awareness & Education

Deepening knowledge of climate change and its nuances among IPLC, local government bodies and other stakeholders through regular interactions and discussions on lesser-known topics like climate finance, nature-based solutions, gender justice and more.

Global & Local Networks

Maintaining meaningful networks with indigenous custodians of our natural habitats, along with leading researchers, project leaders and policymakers around the world to foster important discussions and advocacy for action.

Informed Climate Action

Empowering researchers from IPLCs to spearhead strategy, decisions and solutions for climate action in their landscapes through activities like analog forestry, agroecology, climate education and documentation of local climate stories.

Current Projects

Barefoot Ecologists

The main objective of this project is to train indigenous and rural citizens of vulnerable habitats to monitor and document ecosystem changes, and spearhead decisions for their conservation. This project is funded by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF). This project has been active since 2008.

Climate Smart Schools

Fourteen schools and counting have onboarded as Climate Smart Schools to inculcate climate awareness into the curriculum for Grades 6-8. Teachers are trained to take several classes each month, partly involving outdoor work, like weather monitoring and growing kitchen gardens. This project is funded by Microland Foundation, and has been active since 2022.

Climate Historians

This project aims to understand how communities define climate change, and local vocabularies of climate change nuances, along with their perceptions and observations of socio-ecological change beyond the ecosystems, going into cultural contexts. Our research aims to identify differences in perceptions owing to geography and ecosystems, to be documented in the form of ecological calendars which may be used by IPLC communities as a resource. This project is being funded by Synchronoss.

Climate Stories

A short-term environment journalism programme is being provided to build capacity among the local and indigenous youth of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve to equip them to report on social, cultural and ecological news from their local regions. This project is being funded by Earth Journalism Network.