Dr. Dharmendra Shah is an experienced educator and researcher with over 22 years of teaching in Botany and 17 years in Environmental Science at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. With 25 years of research expertise in remote sensing and GIS for coastal ecosystems, Dr. Dharmendra has a focused interest in the ecological dynamics of mangrove ecosystems, particularly in Gujarat, India. His research portfolio includes 35 publications in scientific journals and conference proceedings. Additionally, he is actively investigating the diversity and distribution of bryophytes in Gujarat, contributing to a deeper understanding of the region’s unique ecological landscape.

Dr Sahadev Sharma is currently a scientific consultant to International Programs, United States Forest Service, based in India. Currently, he is leading blue carbon ecosystems monitoring projects in India, Maldives and Palau. He obtained a Doctor of Science in Plant Ecology and Physiology from the University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan in 2012. By training, he is a forest ecologist with research interests in mangrove forest ecology, physiology, and blue carbon dynamics from local, national, regional to the global scale, using a wide spectrum of methods and technologies such as remote sensing and field-based monitoring and sampling, and integrating ecological, biogeochemistry and hydrological data. His research has been published in various peer reviewed journals.

Personal & organization webpage links:

• https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hdWna6wAAAAJ&hl=en
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahadev-sharma-a6b2901a6/

Dr. Tune Usha specializes in developing geospatial tools, techniques, and applications focused on coastal hazards such as tsunamis, urban flooding, and storm surges. With expertise in coastal vulnerability assessments, resource mapping, and Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plans, she has also served as a trainer in geospatial applications for over two decades. Currently, Dr. Usha leads the Coastal Hazards and Vulnerability Group at NCCR.

Coastal Oceanographer specializing in coastal ecosystem modeling and assessment of ecosystem services. His work includes developing coupled hydro-ecological models for Chilika, Pulicat, Kochi backwaters, and the southwest coast of India. He oversees a network of buoys with sensors to monitor coastal water quality, integrating this data into models that predict coastal water quality and support a beach alert system. Currently, he is with the assessment of Ecosystem Services of Corigna Mangrove ecosystem and formulating an Ocean Accounting Framework.

Dr. Ragavan pursued Master’s and Ph. D in Marine Biology from Pondicherry University. His area of interest is taxonomy, ecology, and biogeochemistry of mangroves and seagrasses. More recently, working on the conservation and management of mangroves and carbon dynamics in the blue carbon habitats of India. He has published 48 research articles, 10 book chapters, and one book.

Personal & organization webpage links: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jp0rjdMAAAAJ&hl=en

As a Chief Minister’s Nava Kerala Post-Doctoral Fellow working on understanding the role of mangroves in carbon sequestration. She holds a doctorate in Environmental Studies and has over 15 years of research experience in wetlands and Mangrove Ecology. She has more than 14 scientific publications, and she continues to contribute valuable insights into mangrove ecology and climate change mitigation.

Engaged in ecological restoration endeavors in the degraded mangrove ecosystems of Indian Sundarbans since 2014 with allied research such as reproductive ecology of mangrove and its associate species. Mangrove microbiome and its exploitation in RET mangrove species’ establishment & growth improvement via multi-tasking PGPRB consortia. Mangrove ecophysiology for osmotic adjustment and abiotic stress acclimation.

Link to the institute webpage: https://wbsu.ac.in/web/faculty/dr-krishna-ray/

Plant ecophysiologist, with research focus on whole-plant/mangrove physiology in natural and managed ecosystems in relation to changing climate. Interested in linking plant functions to ecosystem processes and sustainability.

Personal & organization webpage links:

• https://guhaanirban.weebly.com/
• https://www.iisertvm.ac.in/faculty/guhaanirban

Dr. R. Ramasubramanian is a Senior Fellow at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in Chennai, where he has worked since 1996 after earning his doctorate from the University of Madras. He has conducted extensive surveys and restoration of degraded mangroves in Andhra Pradesh. His work includes training community members and officials on mangrove practices and developing manuals on mangrove identification, nursery techniques, and restoration. He has published over 20 peer-reviewed articles, co-authored five books, and is involved in national and state-level committees on environment and wetland management.

Dr Punyasloke Bhadury completed his M.Sc. from Edinburgh and Ph.D. from Plymouth in the United Kingdom. Subsequently, he did his postdoctoral research from Princeton University, USA. He initially joined as a Faculty in WII Dehradun at the end of 2008 and subsequently moved to IISER Kolkata in 2009. Since 2018 he is a Professor of Biological Sciences in IISER Kolkata. He is the recipient of prestigious SwarnaJayanti Fellowship Award in Earth and Environmental Sciences conferred by Government of India in 2019. He has published more than 80 peer-reviewed papers in international journals. His research interests include biocomplexity of microbial systems including in mangroves, biogeochemical cycling and sea level rise, nature-based solutions to ecosystem restoration and developing technologies for biomonitoring of coastal biotopes.

Personal & organization webpage links: https://www.iiserkol.ac.in/web/en/people/faculty/dbs/pbhadury/#gsc.tab=0