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Senior Livestock and Rangeland Specialist Ecosystem and landscape restoration (SG2-AAD) Resilient mountain economies and landscapes (SG2)
Dr. Tashi Dorji is a Senior Livestock and Rangeland Specialist under the restoring and regenerating landscapes group. He joined ICIMOD in 2014 after 20 years of work with the Ministry of Agriculture, Bhutan.
At ICIMOD, he has assumed different portfolios, including as the component lead for livelihoods under the Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation Initiative and as Coordinator of the Kanchenjunga Landscape Initiative. He was also interim head of the Ecosystems Theme and later served as Interim Coordinator of the Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action Programme (HI-REAP). Tashi is a veterinarian by background with a master’s in animal production from Melbourne University and a PhD from Kobe University in animal science, with a focus on high-altitude yak farming systems. His current work focuses on mobilising the Asian Highland Pastoral Network, a regional platform for yak herders, and also on piloting nature-based solutions as part of rangeland restoration in the Himalaya.
Tashi Dorji
How do you protect the pulse of the planet?
Tradition and culture are the backbone of community resilience and ecosystems in the Himalaya. My work on valuing highland ecosystems, strengthening yak systems, and securing yak herders’ livelihoods are crucial to sustaining the identify of Himalaya and protecting the pulse of the planet.
What is your favorite part of the work you do at ICIMOD?
The platform ICIMOD provides for working with diverse multidisciplinary teams both in-house and external partners, also its role as a repository of knowledge and information on all aspects of Himalaya, and the opportunities to build and enhance networks with local communities, scientists, private sector actors, civil society actors, donors, government officials and policy makers.
What are you passionate about?
I am passionate about yaks. Coming from a livestock herding family background myself, I was always interested to learn more about Yak herding and am fascinated by the adaptation and resilience of herders and yaks living in such cold and harsh climatic conditions of the Himalaya.
My qualifications
I obtained a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences at Kobe University in Japan with a dissertation on “Genetic constitution of cattle population of Bhutan,” an MSc from Melbourne University in Australia where my research focused on the genetic diversity of yak populations of Bhutan using microsatellite markers, and a Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry from Anand Veterinary College, Gujarat, India
I joined ICIMOD as a Livelihood Specialist: Conservation and Development and my main responsibilities involved developing livelihood frameworks, identifying innovative livelihood options including value chains and responsible tourism and natural resources management in the Transboundary Landscapes of the HKH, later I took up the position of Senior Ecosystems Specialist.
Previous to joining ICIMOD, I had worked in different positions within the Ministry of Agriculture and Forest (MOAF), Bhutan. As Chief of Policy and Planning Division, my main responsibilities were to coordinate national planning (Five Year and Annual) for the MOAF, coordinate various donor funding and projects in the renewable natural resources sector; and liaise with national and international development agencies. I also held past portfolios as the Chief of Department of Livestock and the Programme Director of the Renewable Natural Resources Research Centre, Jakar, under the Council for Renewable Natural Resources Research of Bhutan.
