Trisa Bhattacharjee

When humans negatively affect the needs of wildlife, or when the needs of wildlife negatively affect humans, we speak of human–wildlife conflict. In India, where the majority of the population lives close to and shares spaces with animals, this is a major challenge. Take tigers. Every year, both humans and animals die because of human-tiger conflict. Here, Trisa aims to provide a solution with a “conflict zone map”. The young changemaker – who has gained experience with conservation NGOs and worked across the western Himalayas, the Gangetic plains, tropical rainforests and elsewhere — wants to study the perceptions of all stakeholders, look into invasive populations, research biodiversity and prey-predator ratios. Education material and tools will supplement the map. Her initiative, Trisa hopes, will create mitigation models that will reduce negative interactions, and restore India’s tiger populations.