FACULTY
Learning from some of the best minds in education and in the industry
Prof. Akashdeep Roy
Adjunct Faculty - Environmental Studies
Email: akashdeep.roy@flame.edu.in
Prof. Akashdeep Roy has Doctorate Degree in Political Ecology from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Environment and Development from School of Human Ecology, Ambedkar University Delhi and a Bachelor’s Degree in Botany from Hindu College, University of Delhi.
BIO
Prof. Akashdeep Roy is an Adjunct Professor – Physical and Natural Sciences at FLAME University. He holds a Doctorate Degree in Political Ecology from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune. He holds a Master’s Degree in Environment and Development from School of Human Ecology, Ambedkar University Delhi. He has completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Botany from Hindu College, University of Delhi.
Prof. Akashdeep Roy has worked at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun as research associate prior to his doctoral journey. In addition to this, he has been an active teaching assistant at IISER Pune across various programs. He has also served as a consultant for International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Nepal and in a collaborative project between IISER Pune and IHE Delft, Netherlands. He also teaches wildlife conservation and photography at Symbiosis International University, Pune.
His research work has been widely recognized, with publications in high-impact journals and presentations at international conferences. Notable works include elephant calf burials in tea plantations, nonhuman agency of elephants in shared spaces, role of alcohol and electric fences in shaping human-elephant conflict in North Bengal, and the efficacy of weather advisories to farmers in Haryana.
His research interests include political ecology, conservation biology, environmental economics, and environmental history. He takes great interest in mixed-methods research.
Prof. Akashdeep Roy has worked at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun as research associate prior to his doctoral journey. In addition to this, he has been an active teaching assistant at IISER Pune across various programs. He has also served as a consultant for International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Nepal and in a collaborative project between IISER Pune and IHE Delft, Netherlands. He also teaches wildlife conservation and photography at Symbiosis International University, Pune.
His research work has been widely recognized, with publications in high-impact journals and presentations at international conferences. Notable works include elephant calf burials in tea plantations, nonhuman agency of elephants in shared spaces, role of alcohol and electric fences in shaping human-elephant conflict in North Bengal, and the efficacy of weather advisories to farmers in Haryana.
His research interests include political ecology, conservation biology, environmental economics, and environmental history. He takes great interest in mixed-methods research.
RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS
Published
- Roy, A., & Sharma, S. (2026). Elephant Taking the Lion's Share: Political Ecology of Elephant Conservation and Human-Elephant Conflict in Eastern India. Journal of Political Ecology. https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.6435
- Roy, A., & Kaswan, P. (2025). Digging Deeper: Understanding the Calf Burials Behaviour among Asian Elephants in North Bengal. Animal Behaviour and Welfare Cases, (2025), abwcases20250002. https://doi.org/10.1079/abwcases.2025.0002
- Kaswan, P., & Roy, A. (2024). Unearthing calf burials among Asian Elephants Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia: Proboscidea: Elephantidae) in northern Bengal, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 16(2), 24615-24629. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8826.16.2.24615-24629
- Roy, A. (2024). Review of Bollig, Michael; Lendelvo, Selma; Mosimane, Alfons; Nghitevelekwa, Romie, eds., Conservation, Markets, and the Environment in Southern and Eastern Africa: Commodifying the "Wild". H-Environment, H-Net Reviews. http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=59526
- Roy, A., & Bhowmik, M. (2023). Understanding kiang’s natural history and behaviour in the Tso Kar basin, Ladakh. In AIP Conference Proceedings (Vol. 2842, No. 1, p. 020011). AIP Publishing LLC. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0175717
- Roy, A. (2023). Review of Chao, Sophie; Bolender, Karin; Kirksey, Eben, eds., The Promise of Multispecies Justice. H-Environment, H-Net Reviews. http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=58445
- Roy, A., Dash, S. K., & Sathyakumar, S. (2022). A combination of cultural values and economic benefits promote tolerance towards large mammals in a hotspot of human-wildlife conflicts in eastern India. Human Ecology, 50(2), 321-329. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-022-00306-8
- Sharma, U., Chetri, P., Minocha, S., Roy, A., Holker, T., Patt, A., & Joerin, J. (2021). Do phone-based short message services improve the uptake of agri-met advice by farmers? A case study in Haryana, India. Climate Risk Management, 33, 100321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2021.100321
- Naha, D., Dash, S. K., Chettri, A., Roy, A., & Sathyakumar, S. (2020). Elephants in the neighborhood: patterns of crop-raiding by Asian elephants within a fragmented landscape of Eastern India. PeerJ, 8, e9399. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9399
Accepted
- Sharma, U., Ilavarasan, P., Chetri, P., Mioncha, S., Roy, A., & Holker, T. (2026). The Effect of Information and Communication Technologies in Decision-making on Farming Operations by Farmers: Evidence from Haryana, India. Information Technology for Development, 32(2), 249-280. https://doi.org/10.17705/1ITD.032210
Working Papers:
- Roy, A., Sharma, S., Lele, S., & Kaswan, P. (2026). Politically Charged Fences: Human-Elephant Conflict and Socio-Ecological Trade-Offs in North Bengal, India. Journal for Nature Conservation.
- Roy, A., & Sharma, S. (2026). Fermenting Human-Elephant Conflict: More-than-human Political Ecology of haria in North Bengal. Journal of Political Ecology.
Conference Presentations:
- Political Ecology Network Conference (POLLEN). Panel convener, moderator, oral presenter. Dodoma, Tanzania in 2024 & Barcelona, Spain in 2026.
- Theme (2024): Political Ecology of Connectivity and Conservation.
- Theme (2026): Diverse Origins, Multiple Futures: The Stories of Political Ecology
- Indian Wildlife Ecology Conference (IWEC). Oral presentation. NCBS, Bangalore in 2024 & Ashoka University, Sonipat in 2026.
- Theme: Integrating mixed methods for deeper insights in socio-ecological research
- Students Conference for Conservation Science, Bangalore (SCCS-BNG). Oral presentation. IISc, Bangalore in 2024.
- Conservation Social Science Conference. Organized by Society for Conservation Biology’s Social Science Working Group. Oral presentation and discussion (Online) in 2024.
- Theme:
- Pathways Europe Conference. Session moderator and oral presenter. Cordoba, Spain in 2024.
- Theme: Revisiting What Is Wild for Coexisting
- Wildlife Connectivity-Conflict Interfaces in the Himalaya. Co-organized by ICIMOD, ATREE, NTNC, IUCN, German Cooperation in 2024.
- Theme: Wildlife connectivity-conflict interfaces in the Himalaya
Awards and Honors
- Gold medal for best PhD thesis in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IISER Pune in 2026.
- Infosys Foundation travel grant for international conference in 2024.
- Indian Council for Social Science Research travel grant for international conference in 2024.
- 2. The Rufford Foundation. 1st Rufford small grant for Nature Conservation (US$ 6,523) in 2023.
- Inlaks Ravi Sankaran Programme. Small grant for Ecology, Conservation, and Field Biology (US$ 2,517) in 2022.