Sustainability in Kathmandu and Nepal

The Woods Center presents Kashish Das Shrestha on Sustainability in Kathmandu and Nepal, Thursday, February 19th from 4 PM to 7 PM at room 383, Y2E2. The talk will be followed by a light reception.

Kashish Das Shrestha

Kashish Das Shrestha is a widely published writer and an independent policy analyst who takes a holistic approach on issues of sustainable development in Nepal, with a focus on environment and climate change, wildlife, energy, agriculture, and urban development. He is the advisor to the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Energy, and Natural Resources. He is also a co-author of the Chairman's election manifesto "Towards a Sustainable Kathmandu." He has previously worked closely with Nepal’s Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Means on several issues. He was also Niti Foundation’s 2012 Renewable Energy Policy Fellow.

In Grade 6 Kashish won a Kathmandu wide school competition for a proposal to curb the valley’s pollution. As prize, he got to personally hand over his ‘modern mass-transit’ based proposal to the then Prime Minister on World Environment Day 1994. He continues to believe in and pursue the idea both at a policy level, as well as in his capacity as a social entrepreneur.

Kashish’s writings have appeared on the New York Times Dot Earth and China Dialogue. His column Of This Earth was published inRepublica national daily’s Friday edition, The Week, for a several years, where he regularly contributed to the daily’s environment coverage. In 2009 he published the 350NEPAL single volume journal with original essays on climate change by authors including Bill McKibben. He has also been the New York correspondent for BBC Nepali Service and has produced and hosted more than 3000 live hours of radio shows on Image FM 97.9.

The research conducted and reports produced by Kashish have been primarily self-funded by his work as a photographer in New York and Nepal since 2007. His clients include international publications covering fashion and music, as well as development and humanitarian agencies and his work with the Parliamentary Committee is pro bono.