Rajan Kumar Kotru, PhD

An innovative, strategic and passionate senior international research and sustainable development expert, with a career spanning over 35 years and experience and expertise gained across South Asia, Europe, India and the USA. With a PhD from Highest Ranked Ludwig Maximilians University of Germany on Forestry Sciences, he has contributed to concepts, execution and monitoring of impact-oriented research and development projects in the German Alps and Indian Himalayan Region. He has richly contributed to national (e.g., NITI Aayog, German Alpine Foundation, J&K Climate Cell) and international Policy Think-Tanks (e.g., IUFRO, Global Landscapes Forum, FAO), cohesive multicultural teams, and governments championing climate smart, eco-friendly solutions in applied research, rural development and transnational contexts, dedicated to restoration and sustenance of mountain ecosystem services enabling poor and disadvantaged communities. As an accessible leader in his field, he has created and modelled best practices (e.g., First-ever community level PES in IHR, UNDP’s selection of Changar Project). An intensively sought Youth mobilisation professional (in Himachal Pradesh and J&K, Nepal Youth Council). Has worked in over 20 countries. He has over 145 publications to his credit apart from Newspaper articles, successful project proposals, technical manuals, German Government Supported Project evaluations and completions.

Programmes led by him have been Winner of several international awards and contribution to award winning publications apart from several innovative landscape management concepts and their mainstreaming.

Alumni/Fellow: Daimler-Benz Foundation Germany, Inner Wheel CLTS UK-India, ICIMOD Nepal, Member PAHAD and Advisor to several NGOs in J&K and Himachal Pradesh etc.

Currently: Chief Technical Advisor for Indo-German Development Cooperation, Northeast India/Tripura; Lead Strategist Trestle Management Advisor-Policy and Practice Thinktank; External Research Committee Member for School of Planning and Architecture Bhopal under Ministry of Education, GoI, & Advisor Himalaya Unnati Mission – Art of Living