Dr. Shiva Devkota has diverse research interests and academic backgrounds. He is particularly interested in research that integrates social, economic and ecological dimensions of plants, wild mushrooms, caterpillar fungus, and lichens. He completed his Ph.D. from Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research WSL and University of Bern, Switzerland in 2017. He employed molecular ecology, ethnobotany and resource economics to study various dimensions of lichens during his PhD research. After his PhD, he worked as Guest Scientist at WSL. Dr. Devkota has a double Masters’ degree from Tribhuvan University, Nepal; one in Botany and the other in Social Science. He worked as an assistant lecturer at the Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Nepal for four years from 2007-2011.

Dr. Devkota has been working in the Himalayan region through affiliations with governmental, intergovernmental, non-governmental and academic organizations for more than 14 years as a researcher, communicator, and mentor. His expertise ranges from biodiversity conservation to climate change and their relationship with society. He has skills in project development and management and research communication. He has received several research grants and published 24 peer-reviewed papers and several op-ed articles.

Dr. Devkota has been selected as a Fellow for The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) for the assessment of sustainable use of wild species for the period of 2018-2021.

Dr. Devkota has been selected as a Fellow for The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) for the assessment of sustainable use of wild species for the period of 2018-2021.