Rucha Ghate is one of the founding members of SHODH: The Institute for Research and Development, based in Nagpur, India. She is also the Director of Collaborative Research Center of the International Forestry Resources and Institution, Bloomington, Indiana. She was earlier a Reader in Economics at Nagpur University and a Visiting Fellow at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. She has taught at the Asian Institute of Technology and Mekong Institute Foundation, Thailand, and a course on ‘environment and development’ to visiting students from William and Mary collage, Virginia University, USA. She is the author of two book Uncommons in the Commons and Forest Policies & Tribal Development, and her papers have been published in journals like International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, Forest, Trees and Livelihoods, Asia - Pacific journal of rural development, and Economic and Political Weekly. She has been a consultant on Forestry issues to international agencies like the World Bank.