Imagine treading the serene whispering forests, hearing the vibrant calls of wildlife. On the field, in the middle of all the action. This is how I started my career. A 23 year old wildlife biologist in the woods of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan tracking elusive species, studying intricate ecosystems, and understanding the delicate balance of nature. As my career progressed I switched into a more diverse field of biodiversity and environmental services which took me to 15 different states of India, further understanding the different nuances of each region, their species and spaces, and the people and their places. I was proud that I was a good researcher with a singular goal in mind- to create an impact.

I emerged as a sector expert and over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working on various conservation projects, from reforestation initiatives to wildlife habitat restoration to charting landscape management plans. These experiences not only honed my skills but also deepened my understanding of sustainable practices. One of my proudest moments was when I was one of key people who translocated a tigress from one tiger reserve to another in Rajasthan aiming to reestablish a meta population in the region.

As life would have it, after spending years in the field, I found myself at GDi. An adventure into the uncharted territory of governance consulting. I was put in the Forestry Reforms project- an engagement with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and I thought to myself, at least the terrain is familiar. That couldn’t be any farther away from the truth. The government offices where the policies were made, where the recommendations from the field came, was a whole different universe.

I remember my first day at the Ministry. We got called in and were asked to sit in front of a very senior bureaucrat. There were three empty chairs, my colleagues sat in two and I in third, but my imposter syndrome was still standing, nudging and questioning- what was I really doing here? It was not that I hadn’t met a senior officer before, but was I really a consultant as I was introduced?

Thus began my journey into consulting. I wanted to leverage my expertise to help the government conceptualise and implement effective forest management strategies. But I had to cultivate a consultant’s mindset first and learn new skills. I realised even the powerpoint presentations I made were not up to the mark. So I started mimicking my senior’s efforts, much like how some birds mimic sounds of predators to gain an advantage. Well, all that bird watching experience was coming in handy after all. But a fledgling has to learn to fly and over time I developed the required skills, and I’m still learning new ones.

The gradual shift from a sector expert to a consultant was finally happening. The buzz words of consulting- effective communication, problem solving, strategic thinking, project management, client relations- it was now a melodious song of a nightingale with a few annoying cawing in between for sure.

Finally a day came when the bird soared really high. In the December of 2023, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change announced the launch of PRAMAAN- India’s own Forest and Wood Certification Scheme, an engagement I had worked for right from the scratch, where we trying to bring the expensive forest certification portfolio to the small and marginal farmers practising agroforestry. The scheme is aimed to be marketed as a new product in forest certification, highlighting the Indian Forest Standards, making the certification simple, less time consuming, cost effective and making it smallholder farmer friendly.

There is one commonality between researchers and consultants. We do like to talk a lot about numbers. Do you know that while 71% of the growing stock is in the forests of India, it contributes to only 2.8% of the annual timber production in our country. And nearly 90% of the timber comes from non forest lands and a major share is imported. So more recently we have been understanding the felling regimes in non forest lands of the country to deregulate timer commerce in the country while maintaining the forest cover.

Forests are part of the concurrent subject, hence all states and union territories of India have a different felling regime for trees that are outside the designated forest areas i.e. private lands and most of these have regulatory mechanisms in place for high economic timber species like teak, shisham and more. This deters the farmers from practising agroforestry. These economically valuable species have a high rotation period and if farmers aren’t completely free to cut them as per their will, why will they even grow timber? This is amongst the many questions we are trying to solve under the felling regimes of India.

Challenges like these make consultancy interesting and so far it has been incredibly rewarding as well. Consultancy work offers a unique blend of flexibility and the opportunity to impact a broader range of projects, allowing to contribute to the field in new and insightful ways.

If I had to summarise a few key qualities of a general consultant, they would include:

  1. Be adaptable. Moving from a specialist to a larger consulting role exposes one to a diverse range of sectors. Flexibility is essential for understanding varied business challenges and environments.
  2. Skills are transferable. Core competencies like effective communication, critical thinking, leadership, and problem-solving are applicable across sectors. Such skills form the backbone of successful consultancy, regardless of the industry.
  3. Always be open to learning and improving. You can learn from your seniors, peers or your juniors or even your stakeholders. The consultancy landscape in India is evolving, one ought to be curious to grow more and deliver effective results.
  4. Be someone your client can trust. Stakeholder management skills are utmost important and building trust with stakeholders is crucial. Your stakeholders should feel confident in your ability to deliver results.
  5. Market yourself well. As a consultant you must develop a personal brand that showcases who you really are and what value you bring to the table.
  6. Stay persistent. There may be times when you want to give up, where either the problem might be too big or a stakeholder would be too difficult. Navigate such scenarios with persistence and resilience.

Being a researcher was great, and being a consultant is now my road less travelled, and that has indeed made all the difference.