Dr Nakul Chettri, Senior Biodiversity Specialist, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has been selected as one of the scoping experts for the Second Global Assessment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the independent body on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
The appointment was announced as ICIMOD hosts 130 leading global experts on biodiversity for the Third Lead Authors workshop for the IPBES nexus assessment.
IPBES’s Second Global Assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services is slated to be considered by its plenary in 2028. It is the role of Scoping Experts to determine the assessment’s focus, presented to the plenary in 2024.
Commenting on the appointment, Izabella Koziell, Deputy Director General of ICIMOD, said,
We are delighted that our distinguished colleague Dr Nakul Chettri is among just the handful of experts worldwide to be appointed to this prestigious global role, an apt recognition of his deep knowledge of biodiversity in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.
Chettri, an Indian national, oversees the biodiversity portfolio of ICIMOD across the Hindu Kush Himalaya.
He has more than 20 years of experience in biodiversity conservation, landscape management, ecosystem services, climate change impact assessment, biodiversity informatics, and planning, demonstration, upscaling and promotion of Transboundary Landscapes.
He is ICIMOD’s focal person for the Convention on Biological Diversity, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services among others and contributed in number of global and regional assessment reports including the Global Biodiversity Assessment of IPBES and key regional assessments including ICIMOD flagship publications HIMAP and HI-WISE.
Before joining ICIMOD, Chettri served as a Fellow at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment in its Eastern Himalayan Programme.
He has published over 70 peer review journal articles in international journals, 50+ books, 30+ book chapters and more than 30+ popular articles, and has a PhD and MSc in Zoology from North Bengal University, India.
