Padmapani L. Perez is a Research Fellow at Far Eastern University, a poet, and a freelance feature writer. She holds a doctorate in Anthropology from Leiden University, the Netherlands. Her research interests lie in the human dimensions and community experiences of environmental issues. Her main focus is on the intersection of indigenous peoples’ rights and nature-conservation, and the on-the-ground implications of policies dealing with these two, intertwined spheres. This work extends into other aspects of indigenousness, probing questions on authenticity, neocolonialism, development, and self-determination.

Outside of academia, Padma has been involved in citizen aid and works as an advocate for food security and agro-ecology. She and her sister run Mt Cloud Bookshop in Baguio City, where they actively support the local literary scene. Padma wrote her forthcoming book, Green Entanglements: Nature-Conservation and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in Indonesia and the Philippines (University of the Philippines Press) during a yearlong Hunt Post-Doctoral Fellowship awarded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation.