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Girija Godbole MPhil M.Sc B.Sc

Girija's research seeks to understand the relationship between women and the land in a rapidly changing rural society in western India. It aims to study how rural women negotiate their identity in relation to land, in light of the increasing incidence of land sale, urbanisation and migration in the study area.

Biography

Career

  • Feb 2007- June 2008: Independent consultant working with Environment Law & Development Foundation, India & LEAD India
  • September -December 2006: Commonwealth Professional Fellow at International Institute for Environment & Development, London
  • January - August 2006: Consultant, Winrock International India
  • May 2003-December 2005: Project co-ordinator, "Incorporating stakeholder perceptions of participatory forest management in India" (DFID NRSP R8280), University of Cambridge
  • December 2002- April 2003: Writer & researcher , Centre for Communication & Development studies, India for portal: www.infochangeindia.org
  • February 2000-Nov 2002: Director, Jeevan Sanstha, Pune, India & short research assignments for Aga Khan Foundation, Action Aid India, Indo German Watershed Trust
  • November 1998- Jan 2000: Project Officer, Centre for Environment Education, India
  • December 1996 - August 1997: Project Officer, World Wide Fund for Nature-India

Qualifications

  • M.Phil. (Environment, Society & Development) University of Cambridge
  • Certificate, Environment Management under FCO Young Indian Environment Managers Programme, University of Bradford.
  • Certificate, Environment Education, Centre for Environment Education, India
  • M.Sc. (Anthropology) University of Pune, India
  • B.Sc. (Botany) University of Pune, India

Awards and scholarships

  • Gates Cambridge Trust scholarship (2008- present)
  • Fitzwilliam College Environmental Studies Travel Grant 2009
  • Commonwealth Professional Fellowship 2006 to work at IIED, London.
  • British Chevening Scholarship for 'Young Indian Environmental Managers' 2001
  • Robert McNamara Fellowship of the World Bank 1997-98.

Research

Land is a productive resource that facilitates exchanges in cash or kind. It is also a socially embedded resource tied to notions of status, dignity, power and plays a significant role in shaping social and cultural identities. Neoliberal economic policies are leading to diversification of livelihoods and are affecting people's attachment to and functions of land in rural and non-rural economies.

The overall aim of my research is to understand the relationship between women and the land in a rapidly changing rural society in the economically better off and socially progressive region of western Maharashtra, India. It also seeks to investigate if and how women assert their inheritance rights. The study aims to understand how rural women negotiate their identities in relation to land on the backdrop of increasing incidence of land sale, migration and urbanisation.

Publications

  • Godbole G. (2008) Building bridges for greener future: Maharashtra State Participatory Forest Management Network in Insights from the field: studies in Participatory Forest Management in India, Winrock International India
  • Godbole G. (2006) Mendha (Lekha): A case study on self rule for sustainable natural resource management in Stakeholder Participation in Environmental Governance, LEAD India
  • Chaturvedi, R. and Godbole, G. (2005) Perceptions of the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department. Project Report, Cambridge University Project 'Incorporating stakeholder perceptions of participatory forest management in India, DFID NRSP 8280
  • Godbole G. & Vira B. (March 2004) Towards an alternative politics: People's movements join the electoral process. InfoChange News & Features, India
  • Godbole G. (April 2003) Two women & a flying squad, InfoChange News & Features, India
  • Godbole G. (January 2003) Free meals make them dependent, so should they go back to eating grass? InfoChange News & Features, India.
  • Godbole G. (2002) Joint forest Management and Gender, Working Paper No. 4 for the Engendering Eden Project, International Famine Centre, University College Cork, Ireland

External activities

  • Workshop Co-organizer, Community-based Action and NRM in an era of Neoliberalism, University of Cambridge, Department of Geography, Society, Environment and Development Cluster, June 19, 2009
  • Member, Cambridge University Contemporary South Asia Reading Group
  • Fellow of Leadership for Environment & Development (LEAD), Cohort 11 (www.lead.org)
  • Co-convener of NGOs' network for Participatory Forest Management for the state of Maharashtra