Rajesh Bahadur Thapa (He/Him/His)

Dr. Rajesh Bahadur Thapa, a Senior Remote Sensing and Geoinformation Specialist at ICIMOD, serves as the Science and Data Lead for the SERVIR-HKH Initiative, a collaborative partnership between NASA, USAID and ICIMOD. Previously, he held positions as the Theme Leader for the Geospatial Theme, Group Lead for the Land Use Land Cover Group, and Capacity Building Lead for SERVIR-HKH. Dr. Thapa possesses over 25 years of professional experience in Asia, having worked in Nepal, Thailand, and Japan. Prior to his tenure at ICIMOD beginning in 2016, Dr. Thapa was affiliated with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), where he contributed to the Japanese Earth observing missions ALOS, ALOS-2, and PiSAR-L2. He also served as a visiting professor at the University of Tsukuba, Japan. As a geographer and geospatial science practitioner, Dr. Thapa focuses on integrating multi-source data—remote sensing, geospatial, and others—for information retrieval and the development of geospatial services. Dr. Thapa's research primarily involves the monitoring and assessment of terrestrial environments, encompassing forests, agriculture, urban areas, and disasters, as well as capacity-building initiatives. He disseminates Earth observation findings to policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders through educational programs, capacity-building workshops, conferences, and publications. His extensive research and fieldwork cover Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, Thailand, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Vietnam. Dr. Thapa's scientific contributions are documented in over 200 publications worldwide. He serves as a reviewer and editorial board member in many prestigious international journals. He holds a Ph.D. in Geoenvironmental Science from the University of Tsukuba and an MSc in Remote Sensing and GIS from the Asian Institute of Technology. Throughout his illustrious career, Dr. Thapa has received numerous national and international honors, scholarships, research awards and recognition from the President of Nepal. In 2020, SERVIR Global recognized his remarkable contributions and unwavering commitment to capacity development for connecting space to villages by awarding him the prestigious NASA SERVIR Award of Excellence.