Ashish Kothari

Ashish Kothari is an Indian environmentalist working on development, environment interface, biodiversity policy, and alternatives. He is one of founders of Kalpavriksh, a Non-Profit Organisation in India which deals with environmental and development issues. He has been associated with peoples' movements like Narmada Bachao Andolan and Beej Bachao Andolan. Kothari has also been a teacher of environment at Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi. He has also been a guest faculty at several universities and institutes and Mellon Fellow at Bowdoin College, USA.

Ashish Kothari has been a member of Steering Committees of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy (CEESP) from 1998 to 2008 .He has also been a co-chair IUCN Inter-commission Strategic Direction on Governance, Equity, and Livelihoods in Relation to Protected Areas (TILCEPA) from 1998 to 2008. Ashish Kothari has also served on the steering group or governing board of the CBD (Convention On Biodiversity) Alliance,the ICCA Consortium, and Greenpeace International. At present, he is the chairman Greenpeace India’s Board,.

Ashish Kothari has also worked as members of several Government of India committees, including Environmental Appraisal Committee on River Valley Projects of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Committee to Assess Implementation of the Forest Rights Act, and Committees to draft design the National Wildlife Action Plan and India’s Biological Diversity Act. He coordinated the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan process in India commissioned by the Government of India. Kothari is currently coordinating the Vikalp Sangam (Alternatives Confluence) process which provides a forum for organisations and individuals working on development alternatives across India to come together. Since early 2016 Ashish is co-coordinator of the Academic-Activist Co-produced Knowledge for Environmental Justice (ACKnowl-EJ) project, an international, multi-partner process sponsored by the International Social Science Council.

Ashish Kothari is a graduate in Sociology from Hindu College, University of Delhi in 1983. He subsequently pursued master's of arts in Sociology from Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi in 1985.