Bejoy K. Thomas
Associate Professor, Deputy Chair (Humanities and Social Sciences) Associate Dean (Academics, Graduate Studies)
Humanities and Social Sciences
Water management; environmental sustainability and development
bejoy@iiserpune.ac.in
Bejoy Thomas joined IISER Pune in 2019 as an Associate Professor. Before that he was a Fellow at ATREE, Bangalore (2008-2019). Originally trained in Economics, he received a PhD in Development Studies (2009) from Tilburg University, The Netherlands. He has held visiting positions in University of Waterloo, Canada (2016) and The University of British Columbia, Canada (2017).
Research
Bejoy works on two broad and interrelated areas, (a) water management, with a focus on adaptation, access and use in agricultural and domestic sectors, and (b) environmental sustainability and development, including normative implications of climate action. He looks at water management in an integrated manner taking a river basin perspective and uses collaborative inputs from different disciplines, including social sciences, engineering and environmental studies. Bejoy has a longstanding interest in theoretical and empirical work on development and poverty, specifically participatory development, sustainable livelihoods and metrics used for measuring poverty and development.
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Martin, J. C. G., R. Kanade, N. Bhadbhade, K. J. Joy, B. K. Thomas, B. Willaarts, & S. Hanger-Kopp, 2024, ‘Review of the food, water and biodiversity nexus in India’, Environmental Science and Policy, 159: 103826
Nair, J. & B.K. Thomas, 2023, ‘Why is Adoption of Micro-irrigation Slow in India? A Review’, Development in Practice, 33(1): 76-86
Thomas, B.K., S. Bhar & S. Chakravarty, 2021, ‘Imagining Sustainability Beyond COVID-19 in India’, Ecology, Economy and Society, 4(1): 13-20
Swatuk, L. A., B.K. Thomas, L. Wirkus, F. Krampe, & L.P.B. da Silva, 2021, ‘The 'Boomerang Effect': Insights for Improved Climate Action’, Climate and Development, 13(1): 61-67
Patil, V. S, B.K. Thomas, S. Lele, M. Eswar & V. Srinivasan, 2019, 'Adapting or Chasing Water? Crop Choice and Farmers' Responses to Water Stress in Peri Urban Bangalore, India', Irrigation and Drainage, 68(2): 140-151
Lele, S., V. Srinivasan, B.K. Thomas & P. Jamwal, 2018, 'Adapting to Climate Change in Rapidly Urbanizing River Basins: Insights from a Multiple Concerns, Multiple Stressors, and Multi Level Approach', Water International, 43(2): 281-304
Popular articles
Thomas, B.K. & R. Mulay, 2023, 'Why NEP 2020 provides an opportunity to include water in higher education curricula', The Indian Express, May 16.
Singh, A., J. M. Monteiro & B.K. Thomas, 2021, ‘Long term rainfall patterns and flooding in Pune city’, Mongabay India, July 9.