Kiran Mathramkot Chandrasekharan

Senior Consultant – Geospatial Lab | kchandrasekharan at iihs dot ac dot in

EDUCATION:

2013    MSc, Geography, University of Madras, Tamil Nadu

1993    BSc, Mathematics, University of Kerala, Kerala

 

 

 

Countries: India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Laos, Ethiopia, Tanzania
States: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra
Cities: Bengaluru, Colombo
Languages: English, Malayalam

Kiran joins IIHS from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he was a GIS/Remote Sensing Specialist for eight years. Prior to that, he worked with Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru, for 15 years, including four years as their Eco-Informatics Lab Coordinator.

 

Throughout his career, Kiran has been involved in the geospatial analysis of various aspects of land, water and ecosystem management and conservation. He had been associated with interdisciplinary teams involving ecologists, agriculture scientists, hydrologists and policy analysts and provided spatial analysis support to research studies and outreach activities. The studies included assessing the trends and patterns in forests, wetlands and agricultural landscapes, conservation prioritisation and monitoring, land suitability analysis, livelihood and resource use of marginalised communities etc. at multiple spatial scales. He took a lead role in formulating the methodology for rapid mapping of irrigated and rainfed areas of Africa through time series analysis of remote sensing data.

 

He was also involved in the spatial analysis to identify potential sites for the nomination of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspots. Kiran has conducted GIS training courses for PhD and MSc students from ATREE, NCBS and GKVK.

 

At IIHS, Kiran will be contributing to the research, practice and capacity-building activities as a part of the Geospatial Lab.

Journal Articles

  • Amarasinghe, U. A., Sikka, A., Mandave, V., Panda, R. K., Gorantiwar, S., Chandrasekharan, K., & Ambast, S. K. (2021). A re-look at canal irrigation system performance: A pilot study of the Sina irrigation system in Maharashtra, India. Water Policy, 23(1), 114-129. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2020.291
  • Krishnaswamy, J., Bonell, M., Venkatesh, B., Purandara, B. K., Rakesh, K. N., Lele, S., … & Badiger, S. (2013). The groundwater recharge response and hydrologic services of tropical humid forest ecosystems to use and reforestation: Support for the “infiltration-evapotranspiration trade-off hypothesis”. Journal of Hydrology, 498, 191-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.06.034
  • Krishnaswamy, J., Bonell, M., Venkatesh, B., Purandara, B. K., Lele, S., Kiran, M. C., … & Rakesh, K. N. (2012). The rain–runoff response of tropical humid forest ecosystems to use and reforestation in the Western Ghats of India. Journal of Hydrology, 472, 216-237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.09.016
  • Kiran, M. C., & Krishnaswamy, J. (2010). Western ghats: Biodiversity, endemism and conservation. World Heritage, 56, 40 – 45. https://whc.unesco.org/en/review/56/
  • Krishnaswamy, J., Bawa, K. S., Ganeshaiah, K. N., & Kiran, M. C. (2009). Quantifying and mapping biodiversity and ecosystem services: Utility of a multi-season NDVI based Mahalanobis distance surrogate. Remote Sensing of Environment, 113(4), 857-867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2008.12.011
  • Das, A., Krishnaswamy, J., Bawa, K. S., Kiran, M. C., Srinivas, V., Kumar, N. S., & Karanth, K. U. (2006). Prioritisation of conservation areas in the Western Ghats, India. Biological conservation, 133(1), 16-31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2006.05.023
  • Barve, N., Kiran, M. C., Vanaraj, G., Aravind, N. A., Rao, D., Shaanker, R. U., … & Poulsen, J. G. (2005). Measuring and mapping threats to a wildlife sanctuary in southern India. Conservation Biology, 19(1), 122-130. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00532.x
  • Krishnaswamy, J., Kiran, M. C., & Ganeshaiah, K. N. (2004). Tree model based eco-climatic vegetation classification and fuzzy mapping in diverse tropical deciduous ecosystems using multi-season NDVI. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 25(6), 1185-1205. https://doi.org/10.1080/0143116031000149989
  • Bawa, K., Rose, J., Ganeshaiah, K. N., Barve, N., Kiran, M. C., & Umashaanker, R. (2002). Assessing biodiversity from space: An example from the Western Ghats, India. Conservation Ecology, 6(2).
  • Shivaraj, B., Barve, N., Kiran, M. C., Shaanker, R. U., & Ganeshaiah, K. N. (2000). Mapping of forests based on biological diversity to identify conservation sites: A case study from udupi and south canara districts of Karnataka. Journal of the Indian Institute of Science, 80(6), 531-536.

 

Book/Book chapters

  • Venkateswaran, K., Krishnan, S., Saravanan, P., Kiran, M. C., & Joseph, S. C. (2013). Changing livelihood strategies: The experience of the Valaiyars of Karandhai Malai, Tamil Nadu. In S. Purushothaman & R. Abraham (Eds.), Livelihood strategies in southern India (pp. 19-31). Springer.
  • Ganeshaiah, K. N., Shaanker, R. U., Barve, N., Kiran, M. C., Bawa, K. S., & Rao, V. R. (2002). In situ conservation of forest genetic resources at regional level: Two complementary programmes using GIS approach. In J.M.M. Engels, V. R. Rao, A. H. D. Brown, & M. T. Jackson (Eds.), Managing plant genetic diversity (pp. 413-422). Cambridge University Press.

 

Other Writing

  • Kiran, M. C., Villholth, K. G., Kashaigili, J. J., Gebregziabher, G., & Mandela, P. J. (2023). Land cover changes in the Upper Great Ruaha (Tanzania) and the Upper Awash (Ethiopia) river basins and their potential implications for groundwater resources. International Water Management Institute (IWMI). https://doi.org/10.5337/2023.212
  • Krishnaswamy, J., & Kiran, M. C. (2022, September 21). The growing peril of Bengaluru’s missing drains. The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-growing-peril-of-bengalurus-missing-drains/article65915561.ece
  • Kiran, M. C., Cai, X., Siddiqui, S., Rajah, A., & Subasinghe, S. (2015). Irrigated and rainfed area map of Africa (2010-2011, IRRA Africa 2010-11) [Data set]. International Water Management Institute. http://waterdata.iwmi.org/applications/irri_area/
  • Kiran, M. C., Cai, X., Siddiqui, S., Rajah, A., & Subasinghe, S. (2015). Irrigated and rainfed area map of Asia (2010-2011, IRRA Asia 2010-11) [Data set]. International Water Management Institute. http://waterdata.iwmi.org/applications/irri_area/
  • Kiran, M. C., Subasinghe, C., Haileslassie, A. (2021). Mapping irrigated and rainfed agriculture in Ethiopia (2015-2016) using remote sensing methods [IWMI Working Paper 196]. International Water Management Institute (IWMI). https://doi.org/10.5337/2021.206
  • Amarasinghe, U. A., Amarnath, G., Alahacoon, N., Aheeyar, M., Kiran, M. C., Ghosh, S., & Nakada, T. (2021). Adaptation to climate variability in Sri Lanka: A case study of the Huruluwewa Irrigation system in the dry zone [IWMI Working Paper 200]. International Water Management Institute (IWMI). https://doi.org/10.5337/2021.229
  • Kiran, M. C., & Krishnaswamy, J. (2009).  Western Ghats, India: A potential serial natural world heritage site. In B. Engels, B. Ohnesorge, & A. Burmester (Eds.), Nominations and management of serial natural world heritage properties – present situation, challenges and opportunities. BfN, Isle of Vilm, Germany.
  • Rajan, P. D., Purushothaman, S., Krishnan, S., Kiran, M., C., Deepak, D., & Jojo, T.D., (2008). Strengthening communities and institutions for sustainable management of Vembanad Backwaters, Kerala. In M. Sengupta & R. Dalwani (Eds.), Proceedings of Taal 2007: The 12th World lake conference (pp. 1158-1163.) ILEC.
  • Bawa, K. S., Krishnaswamy, J., Ganeshaiah, K. N., Barve, N., Kiran, M. C., & Shaanker, R. U. (2002, July). Use of remotely sensed imagery for assessment, conservation and management of biodiversity [Paper presentation]. International Conference on Tropical Forests: Past, Present and Future, Association for Tropical Biology, Republic of Panama, Panama.
  • Krishnaswamy, J., Kiran, M. C., & Ganeshaiah, K.N. (2002, July). Tree-model based eco-climatic vegetation classification in diverse tropical deciduous ecosystems using multi-seasonal NDVI. [Paper presentation]. International Conference on Tropical Forests: Past, Present and Future, Association for Tropical Biology, Republic of Panama, Panama.
  • Bawa, K. S., Rose, J., Ganeshaiah, K. N., Kiran, M. C., Barve, N., & Shaanker, R. U. (2001). Mapping biodiversity from the sky. In Tropical ecosystems: Structure, diversify and human welfare (pp. 523-525). Oxford & IBH.
  • Ganeshaiah, K. N., Shaanker, R. U. Barve, N., Kiran, M. C. & Bawa, K. S. (2001). A regional approach for the conservation of the biological diversity of Western Ghats. In Tropical ecosystems: Structure, diversify and human welfare (pp. 552-556). Oxford & IBH.