Chandra Prakash Kala is an Indian ecologist and professor. His research interests include

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

ecology, conservation biology,

indigenous knowledge Traditional knowledge (TK), indigenous knowledge (IK) and local knowledge generally refer to knowledge systems embedded in the cultural traditions of regional, indigenous, or local communities. According to the World Intellectual Property Orga ...

systems, ethnobotany and

medicinal Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

aromatic In chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property of cyclic ( ring-shaped), ''typically'' planar (flat) molecular structures with pi bonds in resonance (those containing delocalized electrons) that gives increased stability compared to satur ...

plants. He is an assistant professor in the faculty area of Ecosystem and Environment Management at the

Indian Institute of Forest Management The Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), founded 1982, is an autonomous, Natural Resource Service training institute of Forestry located in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, established by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climat ...

Early life and education

Kala was born and grew up in Sumari, a small village of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

state in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He studied life sciences at the

Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University(HNBGU) (formerly known as Garhwal University) is a Central University, established in 1973, located in Srinagar, Uttarakhand in Northern India. The university is named after Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, ...

, Srinagar before completing a PhD on the ecology and conservation of the

Valley of Flowers National Park Valley of Flowers National Park is an Indian National parks of India, national park which was established in 1982. It is located in Chamoli in the state of Uttarakhand and is known for its meadows of Endemism, endemic alpine flowers and the var ...

at the Forest Research Institute (a deemed university), Dehradun.

Career

He has published over 185 research papers and articles and nine books including: ''The Valley of Flowers: Myth and Reality'', ''Medicinal Plants of Indian Trans-Himalaya'', ''Medicinal Plants of Uttarakhand'', and ''Ecology and Conservation of Valley of Flowers National Park''. He writes popular articles regularly in English and Hindi. His decade long studies on the

laid the foundation stone to declare the Valley of Flowers a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

by UNESCO in 2005. Kala has surveyed two major traditional systems of Asian therapies -

Ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

and the

traditional Tibetan medicine Traditional Tibetan medicine (), also known as Sowa-Rigpa medicine, is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior ...

. He has studied various natural resource management practices evolved by various tribal communities in northwest, northeast and central India, especially in

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

, Jammu and Kashmir,

, Chhattisgarh and

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

. Besides the Valley of Flowers, he surveyed many other high altitude protected areas, including

Kedarnath Wild Life Sanctuary Kedarnath Wild Life Sanctuary, also called the Kedarnath Musk Deer Sanctuary, is a wildlife sanctuary declared under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and located in Uttarakhand, India. Its alternate name comes from its primary purpose of protecting ...

Great Himalayan National Park The Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) is a national park in India, located in Kullu region in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The park was established in 1984 and is spread over an area of 1171 km2; elevations within the park range betwe ...

Hemis National Park Hemis National Park is a high-elevation national park in Ladakh, India. Globally famous for its snow leopards, it is believed to have the highest density of them in any protected area in the world. It is the only national park in India that is n ...

Karakorum Wildlife Sanctuary The Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as the Karakoram (Nubra Shyok) Wildlife Sanctuary or the Karakoram (Saichen Shyok) Wildlife Sanctuary is a high altitude wildlife sanctuary located in the easternmost reaches of the Karakoram range in ...

Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary The Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary (or the Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary) is a high altitude wildlife sanctuary located in the Ladakhi adjunct of the Changthang plateau in the Leh District of the union territory of Ladakh. It is impor ...

Kibber Kibber, also Kibber Khas and Khyipur, is a village high in the Spiti Valley in the Himalayas at in Himachal Pradesh in northern India. It contains a monastery and is a base for visiting the Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary. It is located from Kaza ...

Wildlife Sanctuary,

Pin Valley National Park Pin Valley National Park is a National park of India located in the Spiti Valley in the Lahaul and Spiti district, in the state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located in far northern India. It is part of Cold Desert (biosphere reserve). History S ...

and

Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary is an Indian wildlife sanctuary. Binsar was the summer capital of the Chand Kings, who ruled over Kumaon from the 11th to 18th centuries AD. Binsar was established in 1988 for the conservation and protection of the shri ...

. Kala also has surveyed the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

including the only national park of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Triglav National Park Triglav National Park (TNP) ( sl, Triglavski narodni park) is the only national park in Slovenia. It was established in its modern form in 1981 and is located in the northwestern part of the country, respectively the southeastern part of the Alp ...

. He has served internationally recognized institutions well known for framing and implementing policies, including the National Medicinal Plants Board, the apex body of the

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is an Indian government ministry charged with health policy in India. It is also responsible for all government programs relating to family planning in India. The Minister of Health and Family Welfare ...

, of India. Kala is on the editorial and advisory board of over a dozen of national and international scientific journals, including ''Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine'', ''American Journal of Plant Sciences'', ''International Journal of Ecology'', ''Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences'', ''International Journal of Forestry Research'', ''Journal of Biodiversity'' and ''African Journal of Plant Sciences''.

Award and recognition

Kala is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the first science academy of India established in 1930. He has been awarded fellowships from the national and international institutions including the

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional intergovernmental learning and knowledge sharing centre serving the eight regional member countries (RMCs) of thHindu Kush Himalaya(HKH) region - Afghanistan, Ban ...

, Nepal the

Ministry of Environment and Forests The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Indian government ministry. This ministry is headed by Secretary Rank senior most IAS officer. The ministry portfolio is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister ...

, the

Wildlife Institute of India The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is an autonomous natural resource service institution established in 1982 under the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change, Government of India. WII carries out wildlife research in areas of stu ...

, and the G. B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development - for carrying out research on the ecology and

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

conservation in the various

national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

, wildlife sanctuaries and

biosphere reserves Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments. MAB's work engag ...

of the Indian

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

. He has been a

visiting scholar In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

at Pennsylvania State University, in the United States and the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...

in Slovenia. Kala was awarded the prestigious ICFRE Award for Excellence in the Forest Conservation (Biodiversity and Ecology).Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education. http://icfre.org/UserFiles/File/annual_report-2005-06/chapter-2.pdf

Works

Collection

* ''Nanda's Neelkanth''

Short stories

Travelogues

Essays

Books

* ''The Valley of Flowers: Myth and Reality'' * ''Medicinal Plants of Uttarakhand'' * ''Medicinal Plants of Indian Trans-Himalaya'' * ''Medicinal Plants and Sustainable Development'' * ''Biodiversity, Communities and Climate Change''

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kala, Chandra Prakash Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Indian male writers Ethnobotanists Indian ecologists Scientists from Uttarakhand People from Pauri Garhwal district Indian environmentalists