High altitude rangelands are at the front line of climate change impacts, and through my contributions there, I have been protecting the pulse of the planet. I supported the formulation of the rangeland policy in Nepal and in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, which was a great achievement for ICIMOD and for me personally.

ICIMOD is multi-cultural organisation, where I’ve met people from all over the world, learned from them and experienced different cultures. I have particularly enjoyed contributing in the capacity building of staff and partners in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan China, Nepal and Pakistan to enhance their professional skills and capacities on natural resources management.

Since the HKH region is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world for climate change impacts , I am passionate about and feel lucky to be working to reduce the impact of climate change in this region. I feel that my small efforts can bring some change for the benefit of mountains and people.

I am from Pakistan and have been working in natural resources management and development since 1999. Before joining ICIMOD, I spent six years as an Natural Resource Management Officer at the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in Pakistan. I have played a variety of roles since I joined ICIMOD as a Research Officer for the Regional Rangeland Programme of Environmental Change and Ecosystem Services in 2005, including: Action Area Team Leader for Rangeland Resources Management, Coordinator of the DESER II Programme, acting HKPL Coordinator, and Country Representative of the Country Office in Afghanistan. I hold a Master of Science (Msc.) degree in forestry, from the Pakistan Forest Institute, University of Peshawar, Pakistan, with a specialization in watershed management and a Bachelor of Science (Bsc.) degree in forestry from the same institution with a specialization in forest management.