Sunita Chaudhary

Ecosystem Services Specialist
Strategic Group 2: Shaping Green and Resilient Mountain Economies
SG2 – Action Area D (AAD): Restoring and Regenerating Landscapes

My role at ICIMOD

As an Ecosystem Services Specialist, I am responsible for research, capacity building, networking and advocacy for sustainable ecosystem management in the region. My research focus is interdisciplinary in nature and I adopt mixed methods to analyse socio-ecological issues. I help generate evidence that can guide actions for protecting ecosystems and addressing climate change impacts. To do so, I provide technical and policy support to build the capacity of different stakeholders through trainings, workshops, and cross-learning visits. A key role is networking with peers and other organizations for just conservation and development outcomes.

Sunita Chaudhary

Q:

How do you protect the pulse of the planet?

A:

I work at the juncture of science, policy and advocacy in order to promote just ecosystem management at the local, national, regional and global level. In this way I contribute to protecting the pulse of the planet.

Q:

What is your favourite part of the work you do at ICIMOD?

A:

I work with people from diverse cultural and professional backgrounds, and we constantly learn from each other. I consider this a great privilege.

Q:

What are you passionate about?

A:

I am passionate about protecting nature and improving the lives and livelihoods of people of this region. A proud mother of two girls, I also love to play table tennis, swim, and travel to new places.

Q:

My qualifications

A:

I am a trained forester with several years of research and teaching experience in natural resources management in Australia, Austria, Cambodia and the Hindu Kush Himalaya. I earned my PhD from Macquarie University in Australia, where I critically analysed the global ecosystem services discourse with a case study on the Mai Pokhari Ramsar Site of Nepal. I have an MSc in protected area management (Austria), BSc in forestry (Nepal) and a graduate-level Asia Pacific Leadership Certificate from the University of Hawaii (USA). I was a visiting researcher at the University of Cambridge, UK and the University of British Columbia, Canada. I have been awarded several fellowships and grants including Nepal Bidhya Bhusan ‘B’, MQ Research Excellence Fellowship, East-West Centre Graduate Fellowship, Austrian Development Agency, Ford Foundation, WWF Prince Bernhard, Nuffic, and International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), among others. I have published over two dozen articles in peer reviewed journals and have authored book chapters, some of which can be accessed at https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UMMd1jAAAAAJ&hl=en

Related Articles

ICIMOD involvement

26 Apr 2023 | Cryosphere
Schoolchildren from the Himalayan valley of Langtang take in the changing world

Schoolchildren from the Himalayan valley of Langtang in north-central Nepal, 200 km north of Kathmandu, are acutely perceptive of the ...

10 Feb 2023 | Regional Cooperation
Opinion: Regional cooperation in South Asia crucial for meeting biodiversity targets

Cooperation between South Asian countries is crucial if the biodiversity targets set in Montreal last year are to be met. ...

26 Nov 2020 | Transboundary Landscapes
Achieving Aichi Target 11: Member countries of South Asia sub-region convene to speed up priority actions by 2020

SUNITA CHAUDHARY, SYED MUHAMMAD ABUBAKAR & Nakul Chettri [caption id="attachment_27248" align="aligncenter" width="948"]