Balachandra Hegde Sayimane
| Balachandra Hegde Sayimane | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971 Sayimane, near Sirsi, Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, India |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Indian |
| 🎓 Alma mater | University of Greifswald |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Conservation of Western Ghats free-flowing rivers, establishment of conservation reserves in Uttara Kannada |
Balachandra Hegde Sayimane is an Indian landscape ecologist, independent researcher, farmer, and environmental conservationist from Sirsi in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. He lives in aremote villages near Sirsi. He is known for his work in wildlife and rainforest conservation across the Western Ghats, specifically in microclimate monitoring, protecting free-flowing rivers, and aiding the formal establishment of community and wildlife conservation reserves.[1]
Education
Hegde completed his International Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation from the University of Greifswald in Germany and Ph.D in Environmental Science.[2] He additionally completed specialised ecological certification courses at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, the University of the Philippines Los Baños, and the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in Italy.
Career and conservation work
Hegde has spent over twenty-five years mapping and documenting the ecological patterns of tropical forest ecosystems and agroecosystems in Central Western Ghats.[3] His work heavily emphasizes the impact of regional climate change on local ecologies and agriculture.
Policy and institutional roles
Hegde served as a member of the Western Ghats Task Force, an advisory body constituted by the Government of Karnataka.[4] He has also been nominated three separate times as the Honorary Wildlife Warden for the Uttara Kannada district.[3]
Protected reserves and river advocacy
Hegde played a central research and advocacy role in the statutory expansion of the Kali Tiger Reserve. He also spearheaded ecological research that led to the state government declaring four key conservation reserves spanning over 414 square kilometres (150 sq mi) in the Malnad-Kodagu region, funded in part by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF).[5]
Alongside the local communities and the forest department, Hegde led public campaigns and research mapping to prevent the damming of some of the last free-flowing rivers in the region, successfully securing the protected status of the Shalmala River Conservation Reserve.[6]
In 2026, he formally approached the Karnataka Biodiversity Board to declare the riparian zones of the Aghanashini River—historically recognized for producing the distinct indigenous "Appemidi" mango variety—as a statutory Biodiversity Heritage Site to prevent encroachment and monoculture agriculture.[4]
Research initiatives
In 2021, Hegde initiated the "Microclimate India" project in collaboration with researchers from Stockholm University to create a comprehensive data matrix mapping the microclimate niches of specific tropical flora to safeguard native regional crops from changing macroclimate trends.[7]
Awards and fellowships
- Rufford Small Grant for Nature Conservation[3]
- International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) Fellowship, Japan
- CAM Agricultural Media Award
- Pavana Parisara Prashasthi
References
- ↑ "Balachandra Hegde Profile". Bhoomi College. Retrieved September 2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Team Profile: Co-Founders". Connect Farmer. Retrieved September 2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbhoomi - ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kulkarni, Chiranjeevi (27 February 2026). "Activists demand biodiversity heritage site tag for 'Appemidi' growing areas in Karnataka". Deccan Herald. Retrieved September 2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "CEPF Final Project Completion Report". Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. 18 February 2014. Retrieved September 2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Saving some last remaining free flowing rivers". India Water Portal. 24 January 2012. Retrieved September 2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "In a first, researchers on a mission to study microclimate of Western Ghats cliffs". The Indian Express. 9 April 2025. Retrieved September 2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help)
Category:Living people Category:Indian ecologists Category:Indian conservationists Category:People from Uttara Kannada Category:University of Greifswald alumni
References
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