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Programme Coordinator - SANDEE Strategic Group 3: Enabling Regional and Global Mechanisms for Sustainable Action SG3 – Action Area E (AAE): Building Institutions for Regional Cooperation and Collaboration
I lead an exciting initiative called the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE), which was first launched in 1999 and has recently become one of ICIMOD’s initiatives under the Mountain Knowledge and Action Networks Regional Programme. In my role, I work with researchers from the region as a mentor, trainer, and advisor, and I lead SANDEE’s research and trnaing activities in collaboration with university faculty from around the world who support our mission on capacity building and developing academic leadership in the region. In addition, I am also the principal investigator for the Cities and Climate Change Research project.
Mani Nepal
How do you protect the pulse of the planet?
I protect the pulse of the planet through being part of SANDEE’s noble mission. As a team, we’ve been able to generate literature on the region by researchers from the region on a wide variety of local and regional environmental issues including the impact of human activities on the local and regional environment, and we’ve been able to assess the impact of different programmes and policies to address these issues. Trained researchers from the region have been involved in understanding these issues better and generating robust literature for providing the required evidence base for making appropriate policies, advising local and national governments, and preparing future leaders who are sensitive to the people and the planet.
What is your favorite part of the work you do at ICIMOD?
At ICIMOD, I have been collaborating with a diverse group of people from the region and beyond, which provides opportunities for learning and understanding different issues and approaches while doing research. ICIMOD is a flexible platform that provides a conducive environment for collaboration and learning for creating knowledge and dissemination.
What are you passionate about?
In addition to understanding environmental issues, I’m passionate about doing research and sharing knowledge, and I also enjoy the natural environment.
My qualifications
I’ve been involved in academics for a long time, as an Associate Professor of Economics at Tribhuvan University, Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico, Visiting Professor at Kathmandu University, and Adjunct Professor at the Agriculture and Forestry University, Nepal. I also held a Senior Economist position at the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, USA; and an Economist position both at the Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies and the Agricultural Projects Service Center, which is a research organization of the Government of Nepal.
I am an applied economist by training with research interests in the intersection of development and environmental issues including non-market valuation, climate change economics, energy transition, program evaluation and social issues such as social networks, family wellbeing, inequality and conflict. My research outcomes have been published in several peer reviewed journals and I have been honored with gold medals in both my Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree programmes at Tribhuvan University, awarded the Birendra-Aishworya merit-based scholarship and the J. Raymond Stuart Award in Economics and was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA) where I obtained an MS degree in Economics. I received a PhD degree (with distinction) from the University of New Mexico, USA, in environmental/development economics and applied econometrics.