Nischal Devkota comes from Nepal. He did his Bachelors in Environment Sciences (Hons) in Nepal and has a Master in Biology (Aquatic Ecology) from Lund University in Sweden.
He has worked as a Research Assistant in two different institutions in Nepal, smartphones4water (s4w) and Kathmandu University (KU). At s4w, his major responsibilities involved facilitating works of two research groups, ‘precipitation’ and ‘groundwater’, with an aim to comprehensively characterize the problem related to water scarcity and water pollution in the Kathmandu Valley. Citizen science formed a core part of this initiative. At KU, his work was primarily grounded in research, data analysis, and report writing for assessing ecological health of various wetlands in the western Nepal. This also included planning and conducting several field studies and preparing regional stakeholder meetings for awareness and training programs.
After his Master, Nischal came back to Nepal and started local initiatives under an organization, ‘Nature Conservation and Research Hub’ (NCRH) to restore wetlands in semi-urban and urban areas through a research-based approach and youth involvement.
He joins the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands as a Junior Professional providing technical support to the Asia/Oceania region. This includes designating and updating information of Ramsar Sites in this region, assisting the conservation activities and sustainable utilization of these wetlands, and providing support to the Contracting Parties and associated policy processes.
