AI can be used to map hazards during disasters like Nepal floods: Kamal Bawa, Founder, ATREE

Events such as the Nepal floods are very difficult to predict but that doesn't mean that they cannot be predicted, said Kamal Bawa. (Express photo)

11 min readSep 19, 2026 07:30 AM IST First published on: Sep 19, 2026 at 07:30 AM IST

Kamal Bawa is the founder of Bengaluru-based environmental think tank Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), and a distinguished professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Bawa has done extensive work on biodiversity conservation and climate change in the Himalayas. He has published over 200 research papers, authored 10 books, and is the editor of two international journals on biodiversity. He is also the winner of the Gunnerus Prize in Sustainability Science, the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity, and the Linnean Medal.

Kamal Bawa spoke to indianexpress.com on ATREE’s Himalaya Initiative, how tech could be used to predict disasters such as the recent Nepal-Tibet floods, and how AI is changing the face of biodiversity conservation. Edited excerpt:

Venkatesh Kannaiah: Give us a broad overview of ATREE’s Himalaya Initiative.