Dr. Hem Sagar Baral

Dr. Hem Sagar Baral obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and has an astounding list of academic affiliations and student supervision. At present, he is the Director of Conservation for the International Snow Leopard Trust based in Seattle, USA. He is former Country Representative of Zoological Society of London – Nepal Office, Chief Technical Adviser of Himalayan Nature and Chief Executive Officer of Bird Conservation Nepal.

As a prominent conservation biologist, Dr. Baral has dedicated his career spanning over four decades to advocating for the conservation of flora and fauna. For his outstanding contribution to the conservation of Nepal’s wildlife, Dr. Baral has been awarded numerous awards such as the Nature Conservation Award by the World Owl Trust, the TAAN Dr. Harka Gurung Award by Trekking Agents Association of Nepal, the Third World Academy of Science Award by the Royal Nepal Academy for Science and Technology (RONAST), the Whitley Award by The Whitley Fund for Nature, the Partnership Conservation Award by the BirdLife International, Hem-Ganga Natural History Museum Award by the Natural History Museum, Tribhuvan University and several others.

He has founded charities like Himalayan Nature www.himalayannature.org, Autism Care Nepal Society www.autismnepal.org, Nepalese Ornithological Union www.birdsofnepal.org; and initiatives like Community Managed Vulture Restaurants, Special Conservation Sites, Trees for Tomorrow, Brian Houghton Hodgson Award for Nature Conservation, Peter Byrne Fellowship, Kosi Bird Observatory, National Red List for Vertebrates of Nepal, etc.