Ameer is the founder and President of the Van Gujjar Tribal Yuva Sanghatan, which leads grassroots efforts to secure forest rights and recognition for his pastoralist community in Uttarakhand. As a nature guide and certified ornithologist, he organizes youth, conserves traditional ecological practices, and supports participation of Van Gujjars in forest governance and efforts to mitigate climate change.

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Ameer’s project supports Van Gujjar communities in alpine meadows by formalising the stewardship relationship of Van Gujjars and their indigenous Gojri buffaloes within forest management plans, documenting narratives of coexistence with the larger Himalayan forest ecosystem, and amplifying the role of the Gojri buffaloes in biodiversity conservation. The project also builds technical, research and managerial capacities as well as storytelling skills within Van Gujjar youth. 

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This project will explore the pastoral lifestyle of the Van Gujjars which is rooted in the ecological labour of regeneration and rejuvenation of pastures and forests by pursuing everyday mobility as well as seasonal migration alongside their Gojri buffaloes. Beyond binaries of peace and conflict, this project will focus on sustaining life within the landscapes the Van Gujjars inhabit and traverse while precariously negotiating their livelihood and survival.

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