Shonil Bhagwat

Shonil Bhagwat is the Head of Geography and the Director of Open Space Research Centre at the Open University, UK. As an environmental geographer with broad research interests at the cross-section between natural and social sciences, his current work centres on the links between environment and development. His research engages critically with discussions on a variety of key environmental concerns: agriculture and food security, biodiversity conservation, climate change, ecosystem services, and sustainability. It addresses today’s global challenges within the context of a growing discussion on the Anthropocene, the age of humans. Before joining the OU in 2013, he directed an international and interdisciplinary masters programme in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management at the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK (2009-2013). He has also held post-doctoral research appointments at the University of Oxford (2006-2009) and at the Natural History Museum, London, UK (2003-2006). He has DPhil (PhD) in Tropical Forest Diversity and Conservation and MSc in Forestry and its Relation to Land Use from the University of Oxford, UK.