Shalvi Suman

Project Coordinator & Research Associate , International Non-Profit: Coexistence Project and National Geographic Society, USA

Delhi, Delhi

Heritage Professional with about a decade of experience working on academic and internationally funded projects focusing on indigenous communities and their livelihoods in fragile landscapes through a nature-culture conservation lens. Looking for strategist or capacity building roles on livelihood diversification in Delhi.

Contact Shalvi Suman
Area of Expertise:
  • Administration, HR, Management, Accounting/Finance
  • Agriculture, Livelihoods, Microfinance, Rural, Urban
  • Capacity Building, Training, Advocacy
  • Environment, Climate, Energy, Water, Sanitation
  • Fundraising, Business Development, Grants Writer
Professional Experience:

With about a decade of on-ground experience of working with tribal communities in the fragile landscapes of India, ranging from the arid deserts of Kutch to the lush forests of North-east India, with the help of academic and internationally funded projects.

My interests revolve around livelihood diversification and safeguarding strategies by utilising existing resources and government schemes, which complement the conservation discourse of the landscape while ensuring community well-being.

Most of my professional roles included project reserach and documentation, managing budgets, updating funders on the progress, buidling liason with various stakeholders (civil society and government), conducting capacity building programmes and mentoring young researchers and practitioners.

Education:

Bachelor of Design, Sardar Patel University, Gujarat: 2013-2017
Master's in Heritage Management, Ahmedabad University: 2018-2020
UGC-NET Qualified - Environmental Science: 2024
Data Analyst Certification - International Business Machines (IBM): 2025

Foreign exchange programme:
A six-week foreign exchange programme at Korea National University of Cultural Heritage, Buyeo, South Korea in 2019

Conference Presentations:
1. Great Rivers Forum 2018 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China co-hosted by UNESCO-IHP and Wuhan Municipal People’s Government, China
Title: Redesigning a river : The Sabarmati in Ahmedabad (Travel and stay funded by UNESCO Beijing)

2. 2nd Edition of International Conference on Heritage Management Education and Practice: Developing Integrated Approaches & Expo of Best Practices in Integrated Heritage Management, 2018
Title: Travelling Heritage : A case of Kutchi Bhunga

Affiliations and Achievements:

Conference presentations:
1. Great Rivers Forum 2018 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China co-hosted by UNESCO-IHP and Wuhan Municipal People’s Government, China
Title: Redesigning a river : The Sabarmati in Ahmedabad (Travel and stay funded by UNESCO Beijing)

2. 2nd Edition of International Conference on Heritage Management Education and Practice: Developing Integrated Approaches & Expo of Best Practices in Integrated Heritage Management, 2018
Title: Travelling Heritage : A case of Kutchi Bhunga

Awareness programmes:
1. Conducted 50+ Human-Elephant coexistence awareness and human safety programmes in different villages across Northern West Bengal.?
2. Capacity building programmes for government officials: West Bengal Forest Department, Department of School and Higher Education, Government of West Bengal, Joint Forest Management Committee (JFMC), Tea Estate Authorities and community members?
3. Environment education workshops in Government High Schools for senior secondary students (tribal students majority).

Livelihood and human safety interventions:
1. Installation of community-managed low-cost wildlife-friendly fences around crop fields.
2. Setting up trail cameras in tea estates (outside Protected areas) to document the elephant movement pattern.?
3. Early alert system for tracking elephant movement and ensuring human safety: Creating WhatsApp groups with tea estate authorities, including watchmen, sardars, tea estate managers, panchayat officials and local communities to report elephant movement in their area and ensure human safety.
4. Distribution of flashlights and human safety equipments to local communities in different villages across Northern West Bengal.

Available for:

  • Consulting assignments
  • Job opportunities
  • Being headhunted – make me an offer

Years of Experience:

5-10 years

Highest Qualification:

Masters

Languages:

English, Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Sadri, Nepali, Sindhi, Punjabi, Marwadi

Nationality:

Indian

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