Meenal Tatpati worked as an intern with Kalpavriksh while pursuing her Masters in Environmental Sciences in the Savitribai Phule Pune University. She became a full time member in 2013 and has been a part of the Conservation and Livelihoods team since. She has primarily been involved in research and advocacy on the Forest Rights Act with a particular focus on its implementation during forest clearance processes and in protected areas. In the past, she has coordinated the national Community Forest Rights-Learning and Advocacy Process and carried on a study to document worldviews of the Dongria Kond community in Odisha on development, and is currently involved with action research with the Raika community in Rajasthan and observes the Van Gujjars in Uttarakhand.
Her current interests lie in the areas of law and jurisprudence of forests in India, pastoralism studies, indigenous and local worldviews, developmental projects, protected areas and forest rights. She loves food, reading, taking long walks without an agenda, and learning new languages. She's developing an interest in photography and is learning to not take herself too seriously.