Dr. Rajesh Thadani is an ecologist with a Ph.D. and Masters in Forestry from Yale University, USA. He has taught at Yale and has extensive experience working in the Himalaya as the founder of CEDAR – a research based organization, and the Chief Executive of Chirag - a grassroots NGO. He has helped establish several non-profits in the Himalaya and is Chair of KGU, a not-for-profit company as well as of a prestigious Mumbai college. He is on the board of Himmotthan and NEIDA which together work in over one thousand villages of the Western and Eastern Himalaya. He has over 30 publications on Himalayan and temperate forests. He also has over 15 years work experience in the corporate sector having headed a prominent manufacturing company.
Dr. S.P. Singh is amongst the best known Himalayan ecologists. His research interests range from the blade of a leaf to ecosystem services. He and his associates have studied almost all dimensions of forest ecosystems, including biomass and productivity, nutrient cycling, carbon budget, phenology, tree water relations, fire adaptations and ecosystem services. He has played a vital role in the recognition of Himalayan ecosystems as a global asset and developed the concept of ecosystem services in national accounting in India. Prestigious national academies such as Indian National Science Academy (INSA) have acknowledged Dr. Singh’s work by recognizing him as a Fellow of the Academy. He has chaired several national level committees advancing science education and Himalayan development. He has published over 200 research papers in peer-reviewed national and international journals of well-repute.