Ph.D. (Economics), RBI Endowment Unit, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA); Awarded by Sardar Patel University
M.Sc. (Economics), University of Horticulture & Forestry
Academic Positions
Professor, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (January 2012 – present )
Director i/c, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (September 2014 – June 2018) &
Mentor Director, IIM Amritsar (October 2014 – June 2018)
Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (July 2003 – December 2011)
JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Tokyo (December 2003 – November 2005)
Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (January 1998 – June 2003)
Lecturer, Indian Institute of Forest management, Bhopal (June 1994 – December 1996)
Awards
Association of Indian Management Scholars (AIMS) International Outstanding Management Researcher Award 2014
Conferences, Seminars & Talks
Keynote Address, Inaugural Session: 'Management knowledge creation: The role of Indian management institutions', Keynote Address, Inaugural Session, 2nd Pan-IIM World Management Conference, IIM Kozhikode, November 5–8, 2014. Presentation [Video 65.6 MB]
‘Forest rights: The hard currency of REDD+’, International Conference on Adopting REDD+ for Conservation, Sustainable Community Livelihood and Climate Change Mitigation’, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, December 12–13, 2013.
Panel Discussion: ‘Urban forest governance’ (with C. Chojnacky & R. Hostnik), IUFRO Conference on Forests for cities, forests for people – Perspectives on urban forest governance, Zagreb, Croatia, September 27–28, 2012.
‘Urban green spaces for ecological sustainability and livelihood security: Changing scenarios from an Indian City’. IUFRO Conference on Forests for cities, forests for people – Perspectives on urban forest governance, Zagreb, Croatia, September 27–28, 2012.
‘How social is socially oriented forest tenure and land is change in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka?’, Interdisciplinary Conference on Forests for People, Alpbach, Tyrol/Austria, May 22–24, 2012.
Invited Presentation: ‘Analysis of policy framework, structural obstacles and financing barriers for teak investment in Asia’, International Conference on Planted Teak Forests – a Globally Emerging Forest Resource, San José, Costa Rica, October 31 – November 2, 2011. (Invited by FAO of the United Nations, Rome).
‘Can decentralized forest governance mitigate domination by state and local elites? Evidence from India’s Shiwaliks’, International Symposium on Change in Governance as a Collective Learning Process: Management, Politics and Ethics in Forestry, Nancy, France, June 21–24, 2009.
‘When is decentralization in forest management a success and when is it a failure? Case studies from the Philippines’, 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons (IASC), Cheltenham, United Kingdom, July 14–18, 2008.
‘When is decentralization in forest management a success and when is it a failure? Case studies from the Philippines’, 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons (IASC), Cheltenham, United Kingdom, July 14–18, 2008.
Corporate / Public Sector Leadership
Fellow, LEAD (Leadership for Environment and Development) International and India (Cohort 10)
Member, Board & Society of Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (June 2014–June 2018 )
Member, Board of Trustees, Malabar Rural Development Foundation, Kozhikode (March 2017– )
External Expert, Academic Council, Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal (June 2013– )
Member, Expert Committee, CPHEEO, Ministry of Urban Development, Goverment of India (May 2011–March 2013)
Current Projects
I am currently working on two papers. One paper focuses of strategic CSR in agribusiness in the context of Indian family-owned business entities. This paper highlights that the firms involved with agribusiness in India are trying to align their CSR activities with strategic objectives. Another paper explores how different stakeholders involved in the agricultural value chain namely government, private sector, civil society organizations and social entrepreneurs are improving the lives of smallholder farmers in Africa and India. It brings to light on how the world is gradually moving from aid-dependent development to trade- and business-dependent development, and to a point where multistakeholder collaboration is vital for inclusive sustainable development.
Other Professional Appointments
Visiting Scholar, School of Business, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Canada (September 2017)
Visiting Fellow, Uppsala Forum on Democracy, Peace and Justice, Uppsala University (September 2015)
Visiting Scholar, Wageningen School of Social Sciences, Wageningen University (May–July 2013)
Visiting Senior Research Fellow, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore (April–July 2011)
Visiting Scholar, University of Tokyo (October 2010)
Visiting Scholar, University of Tokyo (June–October 2008)
Visiting Erasmus Scholar, University of Copenhagen (April–July 2007)
Visiting Scholar, University of Ruhuna & University of Tokyo (April–May 2006)
Research Areas
I undertake interdisciplinary research on environment, resources, development policy and sustainability in the developing countries context, especially those in South and Southeast Asia. Within this broad area, I have been focusing on conservation, corporate social responsibility, and decentralization and local governance.
Significant Publications
"Self-reliance versus state responsibility: Sustaining lift irrigation systems" (with Vineetha Menon & Shilpa M Asokan). Economic & Political Weekly 54(6) (2019): 48-56. Paper [PDF]
"Payment for ecosystem services to sustain kudimaramathu in Tamil Nadu" (with L. Venkatachalam). Economic & Political Weekly, 53(6) (2018): 21-23. Paper [PDF]
"Water transfer from irrigation tanks for urban use: Can payment for ecosystem services produce efficient outcomes?" (with L. Venkatachalam). International Journal of Water Resources Development, 34(1) (2018): 51-65.
"Governance for private green spaces in a growing Indian city" (with K. Gangopadhyay & B.M. Kumar). Landscape and Urban Planning 123 (2014): 21–29. Abstract
"Forest rights: The hard currency of REDD+" (with Jens F. Lund). Conservation Letters 7(3) (2014): 278-284. Paper [PDF]
“Challenges in the sustainability of a targeted health care initiative in India” (with Kausik Gangopadhyay, S. Turakhia & R.G. Karthik). IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review 1(1) (2012): 27–42. Paper [PDF]
"Curse or blessing? Local elites in Joint Forest Management in India’s Shiwaliks" (with Jens F. Lund, Chetan Kumar & Makoto Inoue). International Journal of the Commons 4(2) (2010): 707–728. Paper [PDF]
"Perception-based methods to evaluate conservation impact in forests managed through popular participation" (with Jens F. Lund & Lila Puri). Ecology & Society 15(3) (2010): 5. Paper [PDF]
"Change we can believe in? Reviewing studies on the conservation impact of popular participation in forest management" (with Jens F. Lund & Thorkil Casse). Conservation and Society 7(2) (2009): 71–82. Paper [PDF], 4th most cited article in C&S since 2003.
"The effectiveness of decentralisation reforms in the Philippines’s forestry sector" (with Juan M. Pulhin & Makoto Inoue). Geoforum 39(6) (2008): 2122–2131. Abstract
"Community initiatives in building and managing temporary check-dams across seasonal streams for water harvesting in South India" (with Amar H Kalro & Ambili G Kamalamma). Agricultural Water Management 95(12) (2008): 1314-1322. Abstract
"Decentralized forest management in South and Southeast Asia" (with Makoto Inoue). Journal of Forestry 105(8) (2007): 414-420. Abstract
"Prospects and problems of afforestation of wastelands in India: A synthesis of macro and micro perspectives" (with Katar Singh). Geoforum 38(6) (2007): 1276-1289. Abstract
"Declining instituted collective management practices and forest quality in Central Himalayas" (with Vishwa Ballabh & Makoto Inoue). Economic & Political Weekly 42(16) (2007): 1143-1152. Paper [PDF]
"Financing of wasteland afforestation in India" (with Katar Singh). Natural Resources Forum 27(3) (2003): 235-246. Abstract
"Why local resources management institutions decline: A comparative analysis of Van (forest) panchayats and forest protection committees in India (with Vishwa Ballabh & Shibani Dave). World Development 30(12) (2002): 2153–2167. Abstract
"Teak investment programmes: An Indian perspective". Unasylva 51(201) (2000): 22-28. Paper [PDF]
See complete list of research publications at Google Scholar Citations
Working Papers
Can decentralized forest governance mitigate domination by state and local elites? Evidence from India's Shiwaliks
Kulbhushan Balooni;Chetan Kumar;Makoto Inoue (2009) Abstract
The role of state in lift irrigation schemes of the pre-decentralisation era
Kulbhushan Balooni; Vineetha Menon; Shilpa M. Asokan (2012) Abstract
