Pushpam Kumar

Pushpam Kumar
Prof Pushpam Kumar is Chief, Ecosystem Services Economics Unit, Division of Environment Programme Implementation (UNEP) where he works on mainstreaming of natural capital including ecosystem services into development policy. Currently, provides leadership to a number of initiatives. Dr. Kumar who was with the University of Liverpool, UK holds the Position of Honorary Research Scientist at the Earth Institute of Columbia University in New York, Extra Ordinary Professor, University of Pretoria, and is member of UNEP Steering Committee-led ‘New Enquiry on Greening the Financial Systems’, member of the UN Committee of Experts on Environmental Accounts (UNCEEA) New York, Advisory Board member of the Gulbenkia Ocean Initiative (Lisbon) and is closely involved in designing and conceptualization of UNEP’s Green Economy.

In the past, Dr. Kumar has served as the scientific coordinator of the conceptual framework for the 'Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)' and a member of 'Expert Panel of the National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA)', UK (2008-11). Dr. Kumar was closely associated with the 2007 Nobel peace prize winning IPCC where he served as the 'Lead Author for the Fourth Assessment of the IPCC (Mitigation)’. He was co-coordinating lead author and coordinator of 'Responses Working Group' of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA).

Since 1991, his research has been on designing and implementation of economic response options for management of biodiversity and ecosystem services. He has been closely engaged with the science-policy interface, natural capital accounting, food security, adaptation to climate change, and more recently, behavioral dimensions in poverty and environment dynamics. Dr. Kumar has published in peer-reviewed journals such as Science, Bioscience, Ecological Economics, Ambio, Ecosystem Services and International Development. He also has more than eight books by to his credit from reputed publishers such as Cambridge University Press, OUP, Edward Elgar, Rutledge, Earthscan, Sage, Island Press and McMillan.

Dr Kumar who has been elected Member of the Board of International Society for Ecological Economics and European Society for Ecological Economics. In recent years he has delivered plenary / key note talk in Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP); Environment for Development (EfD) Arusha; CIFOR-Earth Institute Initiative, NY; Bioecon, Cambridge; CSIR, Pretoria; and World Natural Capital Forum, Edinburgh.