Rohini Nilekani pledges ₹50 cr. to ATREE

The fund to address biodiversity, water scarcity, climate change issues

City philanthropist and author Rohini Nilekani pledged ₹50 crore to ATREE (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment), a think tank.

Of this, ₹25 crore will be a direct grant, while the remaining ₹25 crore will be matching funds for new grants ATREE raises from other sources, as per a statement.

“The gift is a testament to the importance and urgency of ATREE’s work in the face of our multiplying ecological challenges,'' said Nilekani, Founder-Chairperson of Arghyam.

According to the founder of ATREE, Kamal Bawa, these additional resources will allow the think tank to consolidate and expand its programmes to meet growing environmental challenges such as the loss of biodiversity, water scarcity, and climate change.

“These challenges are inextricably linked to the resilience for our future. Already, the pandemic has further exposed our vulnerability to our deteriorating relationship with nature,'' added Dr. Bawa.

ATREE was set up in 1996 with a mission to generate rigorous interdisciplinary knowledge for achieving environmental conservation and sustainable development in a socially just manner.