Ashish Tiwari

Ashish is Air Lead, heading Action Area B (AAB): Stimulating Action for Clean Air across the Hindu Kush Himalaya, where he leads regional efforts on air quality management. He has held this position since 2025.

At ICIMOD, Ashish provides strategic, advisory, technical contributions including methods, frameworks and new insights for policymaking, and air pollution monitoring to target the most polluting activity sectors and improve air quality.

Drawing on his extensive expertise in air quality management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and environmental governance he ensures the AAB team is building on latest thinking and best practice in air quality management and air pollution, monitoring etc.

Prior to joining ICIMOD he has held several senior leadership positions within the Government of Uttar Pradesh, India, including Secretary, Environment, Forest & Climate Change; Member Secretary, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board; Member Secretary, Uttar Pradesh State Climate Change Authority, Member Secretary, Uttar Pradesh Environment Impact Assessment Authority; and Director, Environment, Uttar Pradesh.

He has worked closely with local communities, civil society organisations, research and technical institutions, and international development partners including the World Bank, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Ashish is the pioneer of airshed‑based approach to air quality management in India and has served as Chairperson of the Working Group that prepared the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Uttar Pradesh Clean Air Management Project – India’s first large‑scale, airshed‑based initiative.

Ashish has been promoting the use of innovative technologies and digital systems, including online and virtual monitoring platforms for pollution control, environmental compliance, climate mitigation planning, and natural resource governance. He has been contributing to policy research and publications in the environmental sector.

He holds two post graduate degrees – Master of Science in Forestry, from Forest Research Institute (Deemed University) Dehradun, India and Master of Technology from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

His contributions have been recognised through several honours, including the WWF–PATA Bagh Mitra Award for Tiger Conservation (2015), a Certificate of Commendation from the Government of Uttar Pradesh (2019) for outstanding service in Environment, Forest & Climate Change and a Certificate of Commendation from the Governor of Uttar Pradesh for Biodiversity Conservation (2002).

Ashish is a serving member of Indian Forest Service, Government of India and is on deputation to ICIMOD.