Dr. Kumar Manish

Dr. Kumar Manish is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at the Jindal School of Environment and Sustainability, O.P. Jindal Global University. Dr. Manish specializes in Ecological Modelling, Biostatistics, Biodiversity, Biogeography, Landscape Ecology, Plant Ecology, and Environmental Management. He completed his Graduation (B.Sc. Hons.) in Botany from Ramjas College, University of Delhi in 2009 and his Master’s (M.Sc.) in Environmental Studies from the Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi in 2011. He was awarded the Rai Kedar Nath Gold Medal for securing overall 2nd Rank in the University of Delhi in B.Sc. (H) Botany and University Gold Medal for securing the 1st Rank in the University of Delhi in M.Sc. Environmental Studies. He has been a DST INSPIRE Research Fellow (JRF and SRF) during 2012-2017. Dr. Manish was subsequently awarded a Ph.D. by the University of Delhi in 2018 for successfully defending his Ph.D. Dissertation entitled “Macro-Ecological Patterns and Drivers of Himalayan Plant Species Diversity and Distribution Through Ages”. His Ph.D. work attempted to investigate the factors influencing the origin and evolution of endemic Himalayan flora and study the differential impacts of climate change on biodiversity, human livelihoods, agriculture, and sustainability in the Himalayan ecosystems. His investigations showed that the origin and diversification of endemic flora in the Himalayas have been driven by changes in geological, geomorphological, and climatic factors over the past millions of years. The rich and varied biodiversity in the Himalayas is a product of 55-50 million years of evolution but ensuing climate change in the region is threatening the existence of native species and ecosystems. Dr. Manish’s ecological models showed that about 16-18% of endemic plant species would go extinct in the Himalayas by 2050-2070 as a result of climate change. In addition, his research also suggested that the current protected area network would be inefficient in conserving the Himalayan biodiversity in future climate change scenarios and hence would need redefining and fresh planning. The findings of Dr. Manish’s research have been published in prestigious high-impact international journals such as Biological Conservation, Ecological Informatics, Ecological Processes, Plant Ecology & Diversity, Frontiers of Biogeography, Frontiers of Ecology & Evolution, Peer J, Journal of Plant Research, PloS ONE, BioScience, Environmental Management, etc. Dr. Manish has also presented this research works at many international conferences and seminars including at Harvard University (USA), University of Wisconsin (USA), Royal Botanical Gardens (Kew, London), Taipei University (Taiwan), etc.