EDUCATION:
2017 MSc, Ecology & Environment Studies Nalanda University Rajgir, Bihar, India
2015 BSc, Environmental Science & Psychology Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India
Swarnika Sharma
Associate – Practice | swarnikas at iihs dot ac dot in
Countries: India
States: Uttarakhand, Bihar, Karnataka
Cities: Rishikesh, Rajgir, Bengaluru
Languages: English, Hindi
Swarnika Sharma is a researcher with the School of Environment and Sustainability at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), Bengaluru. Her work primarily focuses on understanding socio-ecological systems, urban ecology and climate change adaptation, with key focus on the Global South.
At IIHS, she has worked on multiple research and practice projects, including Analysis Towards Making India Compatible with the 1.5 Degrees (2020–21); Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture as Green Infrastructure (2021–23); and Greening Urban Food Systems: Building Sustainable Urban Agriculture Practices in Bengaluru through Nature-based Solutions (2023–ongoing). Swarnika has published multiple scientific research papers and popular articles, and has co-authored a cross-chapter on feasibility assessment of adaptation options in the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report in 2022.
She was also selected in the Bengaluru cohort for the C40 cities’ Women4Climate programme in 2021–22. Swarnika has completed her research assistantship on a NATCOM project on wildlife–human conflict and climate change at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
She has contributed as a science writer at the The Weather Channel (weather.com) and is an active volunteer with Charlie’s Animal Rescue Centre, Bengaluru. She holds a master’s degree from Nalanda University in Ecology and Environment Studies. She hails from the beautiful Himalayan city of Rishikesh.