Rakesh Basnett

Rakesh describes himself as a local, a researcher and a forester from Sikkim. Growing up in the Himalayas taught him first-hand what it means to live alongside wildlife. That experience has shaped his work as a personnel of the Forest Department whose primary role is to promote coexistence between people and nature. Sikkim is one of India's richest biodiversity hotspots, where forests, farms and villages sit side by side. That closeness comes at a cost: human-wildlife conflict is a growing challenge, causing crop damage, livestock losses and property damage, and putting people's safety at risk.

Through his Champions project, Rakesh will document the Indigenous ecological knowledge and conflict-reduction practices passed down by elders. This will include oral histories, community stories and seasonal wildlife calendars co-created with communities. He will combine this knowledge with scientific research, including a baseline study of existing conflict and maps of conflict hotspots and wildlife corridors. Together with communities, he will develop locally led coexistence strategies and toolkits, with young people leading monitoring and storytelling. The work will feed into one of India's first comprehensive, state-wide Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence  Action Plans. Rakesh believes his generation may be one of the last with direct access to this traditional knowledge, which makes documenting it very urgent. He sees it as a way to preserve that wisdom and improve collaboration between communities and forest managers.