By Anita Varghese
The 11th edition of the Ecosystem Services Partnership conference was held in Darwin, Australia, between 23rd and 27th June. Anita Varghese was invited to deliver a keynote address on Day 3 of the conference. Anita shared the story of Keystone Foundation and its journey of eco-development across three decades. In her talk, Anita also paid tribute to the traditional wisdom of the tribal elders who have supported Keystone’s work by asking critical questions, sharing their knowledge with us, and accepting us to work with them in the landscape.
Photo credit: Paul Evans
The conference was a wonderful coming together of social, ecological, and economic sciences through the talks and workshops offered by academics, practitioners, and students. The interdisciplinary nature of the conference made it very relatable to our work here in the Nilgiri biosphere reserve.
The invitation to participate came to us through Prof Jeremy Russell Peters and Prof Kamaljit Sangha from Charles Darwin University. We hope to stay in touch and build more collaborations for the future.
Controlled burn is lighting up the savanna.
The field trips to Litchfield National Park and parts of the Northern Territory were indeed fascinating to experience. The termite mounds of the bush, fire management practices of Aboriginal communities, and the stories of struggles for water as a basic human right have left a lasting impression of the times at ‘Down Under’.
Photo credits -Anita Varghese
