Dr. Upma Manral

Dr. Upma Manral is a conservation ecologist working at the intersection of research, policy, and on-ground practice, largely focused on human–wildlife interactions and landscape-level conservation across different regions in India. Her dissertation research focused on the Indian Himalayan landscape on several aspects of livelihood security of forest-dependent, traditional communities, and her work now involves leading and contributing to a national-level initiative to conserve sloth bears and strengthen co-existence and interface management. In this video, Upma talks about the frustrations of things in grad school, whether it be fieldwork or funding, just not going according to plan. Though this time period was challenging and stressful for Upma in many ways, it also taught her how to become more resilient and adaptable, and that sometimes even if you want to push more, that is not always the answer. With self-care and support from the people around her, Upma was able to persevere despite the inevitable uncertainties of her work.