Dr Ritesh KUMAR

Director, Wetlands International South Asia

Dr Ritesh Kumar heads Wetlands International South Asia. Over the last two decades, Dr Kumar has led integrated management planning for several wetlands in South Asia region. He has also been involved in several global, regional and national assessments. These include being a Lead Author of Global Wetlands Outlook (2018), as Coordinating Lead Author of the IPBES Regional Assessment on Status of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for Asia and Pacific (finalized in 2019), and the methods assessment of multiple values of nature (ongoing).

Dr Kumar has been closely associated with Ramsar Convention. As an expert member of the Convention’s Scientific and Technical Review Panel for three trienniums, he has worked on various themes including wetlands and poverty reduction, ecosystem services, disaster risk reduction, health, agriculture, tourism and others. He is also an associate editor of ‘Marine and Freshwater Research’ and PLOS-Water.