ROLE MODELS

They called her “just a maami in a saree". 

She proved she was a force of nature.

Dr Jayshree Vencatesan’s journey didn’t begin in a lab — it began in childhood, in quiet moments spent with her father, who taught her to deeply respect the natural world. That early spark lit a lifelong fire.

In 2001, Dr Jayshree Vencatesan stood before the polluted, nameless marshlands on the outskirts of Chennai — a place locals dismissed as kazhuveli, Tamil for “a place that drains.”

Dumped with garbage, choked with sewage, and nearly erased by encroachments, the marsh had been written off by many.

But she saw something they didn’t — life.

Armed with a Rs 32,000 grant and a passion for conservation, Jayshree began mapping the wetland.

What followed was six years of relentless advocacy — knocking on doors, filing petitions, gathering data, and never backing down.

By 2007, her persistence paid off: 317 hectares of the Pallikaranai Marsh were declared a Reserve Forest.

Today, over 700 hectares are protected — and she has restored 44 wetlands across Tamil Nadu using the same model of science and sheer will.

She’s now made history as the first Indian to win the prestigious Ramsar Wetland Wise Use Award, becoming one of only 12 women changemakers recognised globally in the field of wetlands.

“You can’t expect results overnight when you work in conservation,” she told HT. And yet, because she didn’t stop believing — our wetlands are still breathing.

#WetlandConservation #RamsarAward #PallikaranaiMarsh #WomenInConservation #IndianWomenInSTEM         

[Jayshree Vencatesan, Ramsar Wetland Wise Use Award, Pallikaranai Marsh, Chennai, Wetland conservation]