Academic Background

PhD Ecological Economics (IITG), MPhil in Physics (electronics), MSc Physics (specialization in Electronics)

About Dr. Rachna Yadav

Dr. Rachna Yadav has more than 20 years of experience of having worked in the Development sector in the North Eastern Region of India. Key areas of work include Rural Development, Disaster Management, Gender & Gender Budgeting and Natural Resource Management including Forestry and Biodiversity Conservation.  Her training experience includes the areas of Participatory Approaches, Participatory Planning, Natrual Resources Management, Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Preparedness, Livelihoods and Gender Mainstreaming, Gender Budgeting. Her expertise includes Monitoring & Evaluation of Rural Development projects in NE region from 1995 – 2002. She has worked as Facilitator cum Evaluator with CAPART NEZ. Responsible for conducting Pre-funding appraisal, Midterm monitoring and final evaluation of projects funded by Ministry of Rural Development. She has led the initiative of UNDP in Disaster Risk Management Programme in the NER. Worked closely with all state Governments of seven North Eastern states, As Networking & Partnership officer successfully established a strong network with Government Functionaries, NGO’s, Elected Representatives and Research Institutions. Having long Research and Documentation experience she has conducted many research projects for UNICEF, ICIMOD, NIRD, etc. She has strong networks with research and training institutions particularly in NE region like NIRD, SIRDs, IITG, TRI, etc.

She is professionally trained in frontiers of technology and research – use of GIS, GPS Remote Sensing, Ecological Economics and Gender. With vast experience at community level and given her scientific background, she can easily integrate social and technical aspects to usher in development at various levels. She has worked in a multi-stakeholder environment for Government projects / NGOs/ UN Agencies. She has worked extensively in the field of capacity building for two decades, by way of capacity building, TNA, IEC, training and documentation including audio visuals. With considerable experience in community mobilization and participatory planning she has conducted trainings for Government Functionaries, NGOs, Elected Representatives, Grass Root Level Organizations and SHGs. She has a good understanding and analytical capability in policy assessment and integrating policy interventions at field level in different areas in the development sector, especially NRM, DRR, Climate Change Adaptation and Alternate Livelihoods. She has conducted research on  Urbanization from Environmental sustainability and Entropy perspective. She has worked in the area of Ecological Economics focussing on ecosystem services, ecological footprint and Climate Change and has also done a case study on Guwahati city.

She has been writing on Environmental & Social areas in leading English dailies of the North-East India such as The Sentinel, The Assam Tribune and the North-East Times, and also In Delhi based magazines such as Down To Earth. Some of the articles are available on the India Environmental Portal: www.indiaenvironmentportal.org