​​Dr. Vinod B. Mathur, a distinguished 1983 IFS batch member, dedicated 33 years to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), retiring as Director in 2019. He then served as Chairperson of the National Biodiversity Authority of India for three years.

Dr. Mathur contributed significantly to biodiversity research-policy interface issues, including serving as Regional Vice-Chair of the UN-IPBES Multi-disciplinary Expert Panel (2014-2018). He currently works as a Strategic Advisor for the IUCN-Asia Protected Area Partnership Program and as an International Biodiversity Expert for the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

He will be leading Pre-MCOP Sessions on Biodiversity and Climate, the New Global Biodiversity Framework, and the intricacies of Negotiations and Consensus Building.