Conservation biologist with over 20 years' experience in high mountain ecosystems of Western China and Central Asia. Special interest in integration of conservation and sustainable development, with a focus on pastoral societies. Director of international NGO Plateau Perspectives. Also Honorary Research Associate at the Institute of Asian Research in the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA), University of British Columbia (UBC); International Consultant for Qomolangma (Mount Everest) Glacier Foundation; and former Associate Director of the Mountain Societies Research Institute, University of Central Asia.