51st biannual research and training workshop

About the workshop

As a part of its research capacity and academic leadership development activities, the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) is holding its 51st biannual research and training workshop in Lalitpur, Nepal. SANDEE grantees and faculty advisors are expected to attend the workshop, where they will be reviewing the research progress under ongoing SANDEE grants and developing an action plan for each project for the next six months. Personalised mentoring is the key component of the workshop, where researchers will have the opportunity to interact with mentors and peers to improve the quality of their research and develop their research capacity and learn from other projects discussed at the workshop. Alongside the workshop, several key events are also planned.

SANDEE-ICIMOD Karl-Göran Mäler Memorial Lecture (Summer 2026)

One of the key highlights of the workshop is the SANDEE-ICIMOD Karl-Göran Mäler Memorial Lecture where, Gunakar Bhatta, Vice-Chair of the National Planning Commission of Nepal, and Subhrendu Pattanayak, Oak Foundation Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Energy Policy, Duke University, USA, will be delivering keynote speeches.

12 June 2026 | 09:05 am – 11:30 am (Nepal Standard Time UTC +05:45)

Hybrid (Nepal and Zoom)

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LECTURE 1

From climate risk to resilience: Nepal’s banking sector and sustainable development

SPEAKER

Gunakar Bhatta is the Vice-Chair of the National Planning Commission of Nepal. He previously served at the Nepal Rastra Bank (Central Bank of Nepal) for over two decades and retired as Executive Director after leading key departments, including Economic Research, Bank Supervision, Regulation, Payment Systems, and Public Debt Management. He also served as the Bank’s spokesperson.

Bhatta has served as Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Finance and held board positions at the Securities Board of Nepal, Nepal Grameen Bikas Bank, and the Credit Information Bureau. In addition to his contributions to policy, research, and teaching, he has represented Nepal in various national and international forums and received several prestigious national honours for his academic and professional contributions.

Bhatta holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Tribhuvan University, a master’s degree in Economics from Williams College, USA and a PhD in Economics from Wayne State University, USA. He currently serves as one of the board members of ICIMOD.

MODERATOR

Mani Nepal is the Senior Intervention Manager – Regional Networks, and Lead Economist at ICIMOD. He previously served as Programme Coordinator of SANDEE. He has a long history of working in academia, working as a distinguished visiting professor at Kyoto University, Japan; Adjunct Professor at Agriculture and Forestry University; Visiting Professor at Kathmandu University; Associate Professor at Tribhuvan University; and Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico, USA. He also held a Senior Economist position at the Department of Finance and Administration, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. He is an applied economist with a research interest in the intersection of development and environmental issues. His latest work includes an edited volume, ‘Climate Change, and Community Resilience: Insights from South Asia’ and currently serves as Associate Editor of the World Development. Mani is a Fulbright Scholar who received Master of Science (MS) degree in Policy Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and PhD in Economics and Applied Econometrics from the University of New Mexico, USA.

LECTURE 2

Electrifying empowerment: women and energy access

SPEAKER

Subhrendu K Pattanayak is the Oak Foundation Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Energy Policy at Duke University, USA. He studies the causes and consequences of human behaviours related to the natural environment to help design and evaluate policy interventions in low-income tropical countries. His research is in three domains at the intersection of environment, development, health and energy: household energy, environmental health, and forest ecosystem services. He has focused on design of institutions and policies that are motivated by inequities and a range of efficiency concerns (e.g., externalities, imperfect information).

Pattanayak is also a Faculty Fellow of SANDEE and a Research Advisor to the Environment for Development Initiative (EfD Initiative). In his latest project that is derived from these appointments, Pattanayak makes the case for inclusive environmental economics, and how to evaluate it. He received his PhD in Environmental Economics from Duke University, and Master of Science in Economics from Purdue University, USA.

MODERATOR

Soumya Balasubramanya is a Senior Economist at the World Bank’s Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Global Practice, and is also a SANDEE advisor. She was previously with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) between 2011-2022. She conducts original field-based research on poverty, development and equity challenges in Asia and Africa, at the nexus of water, agriculture, environment, energy, and health, using large sample survey methods. She collaborates with universities, governments, and the private sector in low-, middle- and high-income countries to influence research, dialogue, funding, policy, and practice on inclusive development. She is also an Associate Editor for the journals Agricultural Economics, and Water Resources and Economics. She also coordinates the Committee for Women in Agricultural Economics of the International Association of Agricultural Economics. Her work has been featured in media outlets such as BBC, Forbes, The Economist and The Guardian. Balasubramanya received a PhD in Environment and Development Economics from Duke University, USA in 2011.

Using geo-referenced data in environmental economics research

SANDEE is also organising a capacity building training (June 12 -14) alongside the 51st biannual research and training workshop. The training session titled ‘Use of geo-referenced data in environmental economics research’ will be led by François Libois, Professor, Paris School of Economics, France.

SANDEE Steering Committee meeting

The SANDEE Steering Committee meets twice a year to discuss its past and ongoing activities, and guides SANDEE Secretariat for its future course of action and collaborations. The SANDEE Steering Committee will be meeting on 12 June 2026.

SANDEE Advisors’ meeting

The SANDEE Advisors’ meeting is organised towards the end of the event to assess overall progress of the researchers, to address any significant issues that the researchers are facing, and to reflect on the new proposals for moving forward. The meeting will be conducted from June 13-15.

Background

SANDEE, a research capacity and academic leadership development programme at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), supports research in South Asia and the Hindu Kush Himalaya region on the interconnection between environmental and development issues. SANDEE supports ICIMOD’s programmatic work and strengthens its economic and policy analysis, provides research and technical support, and offers mentorship to young researchers for enhancing their research capacity and academic leadership. Established in 1999, it works in 10 countries in South Asia and the HKH region: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.