Ram Avtar

Biography

I am working as an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Japan and Director of the Global Land Programme (GLP) Japan Nodal Office. I actively contribute to study land systems and co-design solutions for global sustainability as a part of GLP programme. I have worked at United Nations University, Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) as a Research Fellow for four years (2012-2016). I hold a master’s degree in Environmental Science from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India and a doctorate in Civil Engineering from the University of Tokyo, Japan. I have developed methods for mapping natural resources using multi-sensor remote sensing techniques and scenario analysis for sustainable management of these resources. Currently, I am working on the synergistic use of remote sensing and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) techniques to monitor the environment more precisely to solve environmental issues from a global to local scale. I am interested in conducting research in the field of applications of Geospatial techniques and machine learning algorithms to monitor terrestrial ecosystems and climate change interface. The ultimate goal of my research is to use transdisciplinary research methods to promote research on vulnerability, resilience and sustainability.

I have worked as a Lead Author in the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) expert group on Deliverable 3(c). I am a recipient of the prestigious Green Talents Award by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany. I have published numerous publications in several international peer-reviewed journal articles (150+), two books of international repute, and presented my work at various international and national conferences. I led various research projects as a Principal Investigator (PI) as well as a team member such as Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN-GCR), Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI), Belmont Forum, Hirose grant, Kurata grant, Kajima grant etc.

Awards