Dr. Balakrishna Pisupati is currently the Head of Biodiversity, Land and Governance Programme with DIvision of Environmental Law and Conventions based in Nairobi. He provides technical and policy support on issues related to biodiversity related Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEAs) and works closely on issues of implementation of MEAs. Additionally he also provides inputs into issues related to linking biodiversity and climate change, sustainable development and governance issues.

Balakrishna has more than 16 years of experience in working on issues of sustainable development, environmental management and policy development. During his tenure as Head of the Asia Biodiversity Programme for IUCN, he worked closely with several governments in Asia in implementation of CBD, UNFCCC and UNCCD and contributed to development and implementation of national strategies. He also acted as policy advisor to many governments in Asia on environment and is working on issues of Access and Benefit Sharing since 1994.

He was the lead author for the UNEP Conceptual Framework on ABS developed in 1998 and has published widely on the subject, including several books. He worked closely with the development and implementation of the National Biodiversity Act of India besides assisting several countries in Asia on development of draft ABS frameworks. He was the Programme coordinator for “Biodiplomacy Programme” of the United Nations University-Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) where he led a programme focussing on issues of environmental diplomacy and mainstreaming conservation action with development and economic planning processes.

Balakrishna holds a Ph.D. in genetics and is an invited Fellow of National Academy of Sciences, New York, Fellow of Linnean Society, London and Fellow of the Cambridge Commonwealth Society. He has published more than 50 research and review articles and 24 books on issues of conservation, development and environment and is an associate editor for several journals, including Biodiversity, published from Canada. Most recently he produced a ‘Pocket Guide on Bioprospecting and ABS’ that was published from the United Nations University-Institute of Advanced Studies, Japan that was aimed as an ‘expert-to-lay’ guide on ABS.