Bharati Chaturvedi is the founder and director of the Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group, an organization that focuses on issues of urban poverty, consumption, and sustainable livelihoods for those working in the informal sector in India.
Before joining Chintan, Ms. Chaturvedi was one of the founders of Srishti, an environmental group that was formed by students in Delhi University to address a range of environmental concerns. Living and working in Delhi, Ms. Chaturvedi was able to research and address issues of the urban environment, the informal sector and its environmental-service delivery, and the health impact of toxins and environmental governance at a time when these were not on the agenda. Based on her ongoing field experience, she has consulted with various international agencies and foundations on these areas.
Ms. Chaturvedi also writes frequently for the media on issues related to the environment and social justice, including Earthwatch, a weekly column in the Hindustan Times. In addition, to complement her deep interest in the arts, she contributes fortnightly to a column in the Business Standard as an art critic.
Ms. Chaturvedi has a Master’s degree in history from Delhi University, and a Master’s in international public policy from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. She is a Leadership in Environment and Development (LEAD) Fellow and has previously received the Sarai Urban Fellowship. She also serves on the board of several non-profit organizations in India.
The Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group was born out of an urgent need to create a cross-cutting environmental, health, and governance interface, especially in partnership with the urban poor in a developing country context. Along with other interested persons, Ms. Chaturvedi created Chintan to allow for maximum intellectual freedom and participatory forums to explore and build informed understanding about the situation of the urban poor from the ground up. As Director of Chintan, Ms. Chaturvedi oversees this vision through diverse initiatives and innovative research and advocacy.