Pratik Bhattarai (he/him)
M.S. Student
___________
Pratik is a graduate student at the Dayer Human Dimensions lab in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech. He is originally from Nepal, and most of his work has focused on small mammals and endangered red pandas in the Himalayas. His research interests include Wildlife Conservation and Management, Human dimensions of Conservation, Ecotourism, Natural Resource Economics, Parks and Protected Areas.
During his undergraduate research, he studied the interrelationship between ecotourism and conservation to assess the willingness to pay of visitors for endangered red panda conservation in Eastern Nepal. He believes understanding human attitudes and opinions is always important in policy and conservation decision–making. He also worked with NGOs and enhanced his work experience in community-based conservation, visitor management, surveys, qualitative and quantitative research methods.
At the Dayer Human Dimensions lab, he will be working on a research project that aims to empower small landowners in the emerging Bird-Friendly Maple Syrup Market. Pratik enjoys hiking, reading, traveling and watching documentaries related to wildlife and their habitat.