Bibek Raj Shrestha is a PhD researcher with the SeNSS Doctoral Training Partnership. His research, titled “Park, People, and Pressures: Evaluating Protected Areas and Community Forests’ Governance Models Effectiveness for Conservation & Wellbeing in Nepal,” explores how different conservation governance structures influence biodiversity outcomes and community well-being in the context of climate change. His work combines ecological analysis, remote sensing, and participatory field methods.
Prior to beginning his PhD, Bibek worked at the Global Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies (GIIS), where he contributed to a National Geographic-funded project examining the impacts of COVID-19 on biodiversity conservation and nature-based tourism. He led a USAID-funded initiative focused on conserving endangered Ganges River Dolphins in the Karnali River, Nepal, emphasizing community engagement and citizen science. He also supported a snow leopard monitoring expedition with the Government of Nepal and WWF Nepal in Shey-Phoksundo National Park, assisting with camera trap deployment and prey base assessments.
Bibek holds an International Master’s in Applied Ecology (IMAE) an EU’s Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree (EMJMD) , which included studying at the University of East Anglia (UK), University of Poitiers (France), Kiel University (Germany), and Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador). He earned his undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from Kathmandu University, Nepal.
