Dr. Nair is currently a freelance consultant in natural resources management based in India. He has a multi-disciplinary academic background (Bachelor’s degree in Zoology, Diploma in Forestry, Master of Philosophy in Development Economics and Ph.D in Forest Economics) as also a diversified experience profile with over 45 years’ experience in various capacities in different organizations. He was in the Indian Forest Service for about 20 years fulfilling various responsibilities with the State and Central Governments including as Director, Kerala Forest Research Institute and as Deputy Inspector General of Forests, Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Dr. Nair was with the Food and Agriculture Organization for about 20 years and worked in Sudan, Thailand and Rome in various capacities, including as (a) Forest Economist in Sudan (b) Senior Programme Advisor, Forestry Research Support Programme for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, and as (c) Senior Forestry Officer, Chief of Planning and Statistics, Chief of Forest Economics Service and Chief Economist in the Forestry Department, Rome. At the FAO Forestry Department, he coordinated the various forestry perspective studies including a number of regional outlook studies. After retirement from FAO he worked in India in Kerala state as Executive Vice President of the State Council for Science, Technology and Environment as also the Principal Secretary, Science and Technology Department.

Dr. Nair’s main areas of interest are assessment of long-term changes in the use of natural resources, policy and institutional analysis and science and technology management. Since 2013 Dr. Nair has been coordinating the FAO Executive Forest Policy Course and has been supporting APFNet in organizing its thematic workshops since 2014. He has played a key role in the preparation of FAO’s Asia-Pacific Forestry Sector Outlook Study III, published in June 2019.