M.Sc, M.Phil and Ph.D Community Mobilization Expert, WII, Dehradun. Former PCCF, CWLW & HoFF, Kerala.

Dr. Anil Kumar Bhardwaj is from 1985 batch of Indian Forest Service, Kerala Cadre. He has a professional and Academic experience of 38 years in the field of Wildlife Conservation and Forestry. He has managed a number of Protected Areas (PAs) in southern Western Ghats of Kerala. During his tenure as a Director of Periyar Tiger Reserve, he initiated participatory management approaches through ecodevelopment programme which transformed this tiger reserve as one of the model areas for participatory PA management in the country. Concept of Foundations initiated in Periyar during my period, has now been extended at to all the tiger reserves in India. He retired as Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Chief Wildlife Warden and Head of Forest Force of Kerala in 2018.

He has worked in Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for about 15 years. During this period, he has headed two important departments of the institute and handles a number of national and international projects. Dr. Bhardwaj has extensively worked in the area of ecodevelopment and designed competence-based training programmes for participatory biodiversity conservation. He has also been involved in designing of guidelines for ecodevelopment planning and curricula for landscape conservation programmes.

His major areas of interest are park-people interface, community livelihoods and biodiversity conservation, ecotourism and management planning for protected areas & large landscapes. He is a member of World Commission on Protected Areas, IUCN Sustainable use Group; IUCN Environmental, Economic and Social Policy Group; Indian Regional Association for Landscape Ecology; Biodiversity Conservation Society of Kerala and Advisor & Board Member of Ambika Prasad Research Foundation. Currently, he is working as a Community Mobilization Expert in River Conservation Programmes of WII.