Anil K. Gupta, Ph.D.

Research

Project Details

Gupta addressed conservation of biological diversity by documenting and disseminating local peoples' innovative resource conservation practices. Using his fellowship to develop a platform to recognize, respect and reward local innovators resulted in creation of SRISTI (Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions) and the Honey Bee Network. These are two global initiatives that support grass-roots eco-entrepreneurs and develop links between them and scientists and policy makers around the world. The Honey Bee Network now has listings of more than 9,000 "green" innovations, the largest international database of indigenous biodiversity knowledge, creativity and innovation.

He also launched the newsletter, Honey Bee, which is distributed in 75 countries and is a voice for creative and innovative community members and scientists in search of sustainable alternatives. The Honey Bee network demonstrates that the documentation of grass-roots innovations can open up tremendous opportunities for institution building and networking at different levels in society. In cooperation with SRISTI, Gupta also set up GIAN (Gujarat Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network) a type of venture-capital fund for small entrepreneurs.

In addition, he organized the International Conference on Grassroots Creativity and Innovation for Sustainable Natural Resources Management. Held in January of 1997, more than 500 participants from 40 countries attended the conference which was co-sponsored by several international and national organizations including the International Society for Ecological Economics, the International Society for the Study of Common Properties, and the Oxford Centre of Ethics, Environment and Society.

Finally, Gupta succeeded in getting the subject of grassroots eco-innovation on the national agenda of India, initiating a multimedia database of innovations and culminating in 1999 with the launch of the National Innovation Foundation, to which Gupta was appointed vice-president. The new foundation, established with initial funding of 200 million Rupees, will build an Indian register of environmental innovations to mobilize intellectual property protection and help launch these entrepreneurial initiatives into viable businesses and market them nationwide.

Biography

Anil Gupta focuses on documentation of the indigenous knowledge of farmers and pastoralists as well as building bridges to science-based knowledge. His main mission is to demonstrate the potential for knowledge-rich, economically poor people to lead developing societies toward sustainability. In addition to his academic work, he is also President of the Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI) and the Executive Vice Chair of the National Innovation Foundation (NIF), which he helped to found in 2000. He subsequently helped NIF to set up the National Micro Venture Innovation Fund, the first of its kind in the world. In 1997, he set up the Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network Society and Trust to scale up grassroots innovations and convert these into viable products or services with appropriate benefit sharing arrangements.

Gupta has received numerous honors including the Padma Shri National Award which was given by the President of India in 2004 for distinguished achievements in the field of management education. In 2003, he was chosen as one of the fifty most influential people worldwide in the field of intellectual property rights.

Gupta presents keynote lectures on indigenous intellectual property rights at numerous international gatherings including the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Foundation for the Promotion of Intellectual Property Protection, the World Trade Organization, the OECD and many others.

He has also served as a consultant to numerous global, regional and national entities including the World Bank, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, The U.N. Development Programme, the Swiss Development Corporation, the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Ford Foundation, UNESCO, the U.S. National Institute of Health, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, to name a few.

CV

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Kurukshetra University
1986: Management, India

Master of Science, Haryana Agricultural University
1974: Genetics, India

Bachelor of Science, Haryana Agricultural University
1972: Agriculture, India

KEY LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

Indian National Land Use and Watershed Development Council
1989-1991: Member

Indian National Forest Action Plan Council
1999-Member

Gujarat Coastal Management Authority
1999-Member

U.S. National Institute of Health, NCI, National Science Foundation Biodiversity Grant Program, Member
1997-Review Board

Centre For Indigenous Knowledge for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa state University
External Advisory Committee

FAO
Expert Panel on Animal Germ Plasm Conservation Strategy

Gujarat Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network
Secretary

Indian Central Arid Zone Research Institute
Research Advisory Committee

Indian Council of Agricultural Research
Sub Group on Resource Mobilization

Indian National Land Use and Conservation Board
Member

International Association of Rural Sociology
Country Representative

International Association for Studies of Common Property Resources, Member
Board of Directors

International Society of Advancement in Socio-Economics
Country Representative

KEY AWARDS & HONORS

Marine Fellow
1993: Pew Fellows Program in Conservation and the Environment

Fellow
1992: National Academy of Agricultural Sciences

ASSOCIATIONS

Gujarat Economics Society

Gujarat Sociological Association

Indian Institute of Public Administration Society

International Society of Ecological Economics

National Academy of Agricultural Research Management

SELECT PUBLICATIONS

• Gupta, A. 1999. Fishing in troubled waters. In: Towards Policies for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Aquatic Genetic Resources (R.S. V. Pulin, M. Devin, and J. Kooiman eds.). ICLARM and FAO, Rome, p. 145-160
• Gupta A. 1996. New economic policies and environment: The case of biodiversity conservation. In: Environment and Development (Rathore, IDS ed.). Rawat Publications, Jaipur, and New Dehli, p. 46-166
• Gupta A. 1995. Sustainable institutions for natural resource management: How do we participate in people's plans? In: People's Initiatives for Sustainable Development: Lessons of Experience (S.A. Samad, T. Watanabe and S.-J. Kim eds.), p. 341-373
• Gupta, A. 1995. Blowing ten myths about agroforestry: Restoring the productivity of marginal dry regions. In: Agroforestry Systems for Sustainable Land Use (S. Panjab, P.S. Pathak and M.M. Roy eds.). New Delhi, Oxford and IBH Publishing Pvt. Ltd.. IIMA WP No.(1235)
• Gupta, A. 1995. Rethinking policy options for watershed management by local communities: Combining equity, efficiency and ecological-economic viability. Indian Farming 44(10): 3--14
• Gupta, A. 1994. Designing liberating alternatives for watershed managers. In: International Soil Conservation Conference. 8th International Soil Conservation Conference, New Delhi, December 4-8
• Gupta, A. 1994. Environmental policy analysis for maintaining diversity. The Indian Journal of Social Science 7(1)
• Gupta, A. 1994. Indicators as indigenous ecological knowledge: 'lamp posts', 'crossroads' and 'turning points'. In: Paper presented at International Workshop on Indicators, IDRC, Uganda. Presented at International Workshop on Indicators
• Gupta, A., K.K. Patel, A.R. Pastakia, V.S. Chand, J.H. Suthar and S. Shukla.. 1994. Efficiency of indigenous ecological knowledge system for sustainable natural resource management. SRISTI, Mimeo