Ash L. Bhattacharjee
Social-Ecological Scientist
New York, NY
Ash Bhattacharjee Ash Bhattacharjee is a Social-Ecological Scientist on The Nature Conservancy's Global Tackle Climate Change team. © TNC
Areas of Expertise
Social-ecological science, land use planning, biodiversity monitoring, community-based conservation
Biography
Ash Bhattacharjee is a Social-Ecological Scientist on The Nature Conservancy's Global Tackle Climate Change team. In this role, she integrates ecological and social science to support land use and conservation planning that works for both people and nature. Her work combines quantitative and spatial analyses, mixed-methods, and participatory approaches to enable a renewable energy transition that balances anthropogenic pressures, biodiversity, and community values.
At TNC, Ash works with global, regional, and country teams to develop datasets, tools, and frameworks that integrate social and ecological priorities in landscape‑scale planning. Her career reflects a commitment to responsible, lasting conservation grounded in rigorous science and partnership with the communities who steward natural landscapes.
Ash’s career has been shaped by over a decade of fieldwork and applied conservation across Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. Prior to joining TNC in 2022, she worked for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on peatland conservation and sustainable management across Southeast Asia. She holds a B.Sc. in Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources from Rutgers University, and a Ph.D. in Biology from the City University of New York. Her doctoral research focused on patterns of diversity, ecosystem services, and the human dimension across the Chitwan-Annapurna landscape of Nepal. A 2019 National Geographic Explorer, she led multi-year fieldwork across an elevation gradient spanning grasslands and subtropical broadleaf forests to alpine zones.