Relevant Experiences

• In 1995, during a semester leave from college, I served as an internship with the Mayor of Lalitpur. Later, when I was a doctoral student, MIT gave me the opportunity to be a Martin Fellow for Sustainability, participating in collaborative discourses with senior leaders, faculty and students from MIT, ETHZ, EPFL, Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Tokyo in the US, Switzerland, Costa Rica and Thailand.
• During Summer 2002, I took a leave from MIT to work as a consultant for UNDP Nepal and Nepal’s National Planning Commission, working with Swarnim Waglé to structure and write the Sustainable Development Agenda for Nepal synthesis document for the Government of Nepal to present at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Durban, South Africa.
• In two phases between 2014 and 2018, I worked with Swarnim Waglé and Biswo Poudel at the Government of Nepal’s National Planning Commission to draft a new visioning document for Nepal in 2030. The first version, produced after several rounds of discussion, was published as a chapter in the report, Sustainable Development Goals: Status and Roadmap 2016-2030.

• As a Senior Expert / Advisor at National Planning Commission since September 2021, I have helped with preparations for COP26; as well as helped assess preparedness of Kathmandu airport for restarting post-Covid tourism; and participated in discussions on infrastructure development and on green, resilient and inclusive development.
• As an Advisory Board member of Nepal Economic Forum since 2014, I have moderated or participated in numerous panel discussions on issues related to sustainability, and have also been mentoring the Senior Fellows in charge of the centers for renewable energy and circular economy. As a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS) since 2021, I have been tasked with developing the institute’s theme on sustainability.

• As the team leader for college planning at Ullens Education Foundation, I oversee the foundation’s plans to build a new college campus from scratch, recognizing the opportunity to set an example for sustainable architecture and landscape planning in a mountainous setting, bringing together the best of green design from within and beyond Nepal.

Relevant Publications

Read more

• Arnico Panday, “Melting glaciers, threatened livelihoods: Confronting climate change to save the third pole”. In Swarnim Waglé, Kanni Wignaraja (Ed.), The Great Upheaval: Resetting Development Policy and Institutions in the Asia-Pacific, pp. 39-73. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2022.
• Arnico Panday, Biswo Paudel and Swarnim Waglé. “Narrative of Nepal’s Development,” Introductory Chapter of Sustainable Development Goals: Status and Roadmap 2016-2030. Kathmandu, Nepal: National Planning Commission. 2018.
• Anobha Gurung, Arnico Panday, and Michelle L. Bell. “Air Pollution and its Health Impacts in the Increasingly Urbanizing Kathmandu Valley of Nepal.” Book Chapter in Reflections on the Built Environment and Associated Practices, Vol 2. Editors: Gyanendra Shakya, Kishan Datta Bhatta, Neel Kamal Chapagain, Upendra Sapkota. Kathmandu, Nepal: Tribhuvan University Press, 2017.
• Swarnim Waglé and Arnico Panday. Sustainable Development Agenda for Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal: National Planning Commission. 2003.
• Arnico Panday, “Peace By Consensus“, Nation Weekly, Kathmandu, Nepal. 21 November, 2004.
• Arnico Panday, “Daring to Dream: International Universities and World-Class Hospitals in Nepal”, Kathmandu Post, Kathmandu, Nepal. October 12, 2003.
• Arnico Panday, Facing the Future: Towards Scenarios of the Kathmandu Valley in Ten Years Under Alternative Policies That Shape How the Valley’s Transportation System Affects Its Environment and Society. Bachelor’s Thesis in Environmental Science and Public Policy, Harvard University, January 1997.

Relevant Seminars / Lectures / Talks

• Institute for Integrated Development Studies, IIDS Webinar Series, Kathmandu, Nepal, 4 October 2022. Are we traveling straight while the road ahead curves? Rethinking infrastructure investments and aspirations in Nepal in the context of climate change and other changes in the 21st century

• Ministry of Finance and World Bank Nepal, Panel presentation at high-level roundtable on Nepal’s transition to green, resilient and inclusive development (GRID) for sustainable recovery, growth and jobs, Kathmandu, Nepal, 23 September 2021.

• UNDP, Centre for Public Impact & Center for Inclusive Growth, Virtual panel discussion with Jeffrey Sachs, Jemilah Mahmood and David McNair on The Equity Imperative: Climate Justice for an inclusive economy, 14 September 2021.

• Kathmandu University / IIDS Seminar on Nepal’s Policy Regime and Priorities in the Context of Federalism, Dhulikhel, Nepal, 2 September 2018. ”One Atmosphere: Addressing air pollution, climate change and associated challenges”
• Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Keynote at ISAP Conference, Yokohama, Japan, 19 July 2018, “Climate + Change in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: Developing solutions to complex challenges at the intersection of environment and development”
• 17th IUAPPA World Clean Air Congress & 9th CAA Better Air Quality Conference, Session Chair’s Opening Presentation, Busan, Republic of Korea, 29 August 2016. “Managing Air Quality in Mountainous Cities: Opportunities & Challenges”
• 9th Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum, Panel Presentation, Kathmandu, Nepal, 18 November 2015. “Air quality as an integral part of resiliency: Building Resilient Hindu Kush Himalayan communities through sustainable transport solutions”
• 9th Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum, Evening Panel Chair’s Opening Presentation, Kathmandu, Nepal, 17 November 2015. “Envisioning Sustainable Transport in the Kathmandu Valley by 2030”
• Better Air Quality Conference, Opening Presentation at Cities & Mountains Session. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 19 November 2014. “Cities & Mountains: Processes, Challenges, Interconnections and Opportunities”
• Tribhuvan University, Institute of Engineering Guest Lecture, Lalitpur, Nepal, 21 February 2013. “Architecture, Bricks, and Atmospheric Black Carbon in the Himalaya”
• Conference on Gender and Sustainable Mountain Development¸ Panel Presentation, Thimphu, Bhutan, 17 November, 2012. “Gender Issues in Mitigating the Impacts of Black Carbon”