Dr. Dipayan Dey has more than a decade of comprehensive experience in tertiary-level teaching of plant ecology and environmental science in Delhi University, India, and he has 25 years of experience in environmental research, planning and ecosystem management towards sustainable environment development in the global south. He has been a visiting faculty member and research consultant to several international institutions including the United Nations University and The University of Tokyo in Japan, Chicago de Paul University in the USA, and others in South Asia. Currently, as the chair (research and planning) in the South Asian Forum for Environment, and a regional CSO in consultative status with the UN Environment and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Dr. Dey is supervising action–research programs on natural resource management: habitat evaluation and restoration ecology, strategic impact assessment studies, biodiversity indexing, agricultural carbon sequestration, downscaling climate impact, hazard mitigation, risk analysis and adaptive mitigation through community-based interventions under the aegis of several international development agencies.
Dr. Ayyanadar Arunachalam has more than 25 years of experience in teaching, research and research management in his principal areas of expertise: forest ecology, biodiversity, climate-resilient agriculture and ecosystem-based adaptation. He is also experienced in agroforestry, ecosystem services, biological conservation, climate change, agricultural biotechnology, medicinal and aromatic plants, remote sensing and GIS. Currently, he is a principal scientist in forestry in the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, having special responsibilities as the principal scientific officer to the secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education; a director-general in the Indian Council of Agricultural Research; and an assistant director-general (international relations) in the Indian Council ofAgricultural Research. He has taught in more than 15 universities in India and other countries, with a Ph.D. in restoration ecology from the North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, India, and a postgraduate diploma in environmental management and planning, as well as having completed the advanced training program in biodiversity monitoring and restoration ecology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA. He has edited 17 books, written 117 book chapters and has more than 200 research publications.