Dr. Dvijendra Kumar Sharma
Advisor
Location:
India

Dr. Dvijendra Kumar Sharma, a member of the Indian Forest Service, brings forty years of experience in various capacities at the state, central, and public sector undertakings (PSU) level. Dr. Sharma holds: a Masters in Chemistry and Forestry; a postgraduate diploma in Public Policy and Management from IIM Bangalore; a postgraduate diploma in Environment Policy and Law from NLSIU, Bangalore; and a Ph.D. in Forest Fire Policy & Management. As Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, he has contributed to e-Governance initiatives that enabled transparent and quick delivery of services in panchayats; spatial planning guidelines, as well as advocacy and research. Dr. Sharma spearheaded the Union Government's Gramoday se Bharat Uday campaign, which focused on development works in panchayats, and contributed to the Sankalp se Siddhi initiative in villages and a digital connection drive in panchayats. He also served on various Panchayati Raj committees on the functioning of democratic people's institutions in the northeast and Union Territories.

While serving as Deputy Inspector General in Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, Dr. Sharma was instrumental in developing guidelines for the implementation of landscape-based Green India Mission, in addition to afforestation through the Forest Development Agencies, forestry research and training. He has served as Project Director of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), assisting in a capacity-development project at the Ministry level that was implemented in 12 Indian states. In addition, Dr. Sharma worked as Director of the Non-timber Forest Produce (NTFP) Centre of Excellence, Planning and Implementation and Monitoring and Evaluation for the JICA Project in the state of Tripura. He was also CEO and Project Director of the Indo-German Project on forest and livelihoods in the state at the time of the terminal evaluation of its first project and finalization of its second project in 2018-19.Dr. Sharma has served in the Tripura Forest Department as PCCF & Head of Forest Force, Chief Wildlife Warden and Addl PCCF (Ecotourism), in addition to serving as Member Secretary, Biodiversity Board and Wetland Authority of the state, where he led the department and oversaw the creation of two national parks, two conservation reserves, a state-of-the-art orchidarium, various eco-parks and interpretation centers, an eco-tourism company, the livelihood of communities, and a mass public awareness campaign that featured exhibitions and district-focused wildlife festivals, which were recognized by the state government, earning the Forest Department an Outstanding/Extraordinary Department of the State designation for consecutive years in 2021 and 2022 during his tenure as Head of Forest Department in Tripura state. He has also pushed extensive use of IT in the e-auction of timber and rubber, the e-registration of trees, the e-certification / licensing, an e-nursery, a forest incident reporting system, online trainings, livelihood issues, and timber depot management.

A widely travelled person, Dr. Sharma draws learnings from his visits to Finland, Russia, China, UK, Spain, Japan, Kenya, Nepal, etc., in addition to his experiences in various Indian states. The author of various books and articles on NTFPs, afforestation, bamboo, and joint-forest management (JFM), Dr. Sharma has worked to enhance the potential for agarwood production in the state at the international level, as well as various medicinal and aromatic plants. He is recognized by the Government of India's Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) as a trainer on leadership and team building. Various organizations and individuals supervised and mentored by Dr. Sharma have received awards at various levels. After superannuation as Principal Chief Conservator of Forest & Head of the Forest Force (PCCF & HoFF) in June 2022, Dr. Sharma has been engaging at the community level.