Deepak APTE

Biography

Deepak is working as Head- Conservation in Bombay Natural History Society which is Asia's oldest NGO, established in 1883. He is well known in EE circle for his knowledge, excellent communication skills and ability to work with team. As a Head of Conservation he manage national network of individuals, NGOs and academia in the field of environment and conservation. He is involved in advocacy with various government agencies and ministries and undertake rapid Environmental Impact Assessment studies of large developmental projects.

Deepak is presently Principal Scientist for a LEAD-BNHS collaborative project on Giant Clams in Lakshadweep Islands supported by Darwin Initiative. He is also Principal Scientist for 1) Green Governance programme for corporates and financial institutes, 2) Satpura Landscape Tiger Project 3) All India Coordinated Project on Taxonomy - Mollusca and 4) Indian Armed Forces and Green Governance.

Deepak Apte has a post graduate degree in Zoology with specialization in Marine Biology. Deepak did his masters degree by research. He continued his academic achievements after his post graduation by registering for Ph.D. in Marine Zoology. He has been offered a fellowship by Department of Ocean Development, Government of India to continue his doctoral studies. Deepak has keen interest in sea shells and over last two decades, he has collected data for more than 1800 species of marine mollusca. Deepak is also an author of two books 'Book of Indian Shells' and 'Life at the Reef' published by BNHS and Oxford University Press. He has 24 peer reviewed scientific publications to his credit including one in 'Nature'. Today Deepak is country's leading taxonomists in marine mollusca. Deepak did extensive work with fishing communities in Maharashtra especially at Malvan Marine Sanctuary.

Besides his excellent academic record, he has been selected for various national and international programmes. Deepak is a Fellow of Smithsonian Environmental Leadership Programme and Fellow of International Visitors Programme, USA). Deepak is also member of Natural History Museum, UK. He has recently been awarded with a Global Fellowship in Marine Conservation by Duke University, USA.

Deepak participated in LEAD-India initiative for Johannesburg Earth Summit He had written full length paper on Marine Resources and Sustainable Livelihood.

Deepak is the editor of two newsletters - Defending Wild India and Green Governance.

This biography was last updated on December 9, 2006