Mohnish Kapoor is a distinguished leader in the field of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, with a career spanning across forest, urban, and rural sectors. As Head of Programme and Partnerships at the Global Tiger Forum (GTF) — he has driven innovative programmes focused on ecological integrity, green investments, and sustainable resource mobilization models across key tiger range habitats. Mr. Kapoor has developed and led conservation and landscape scale development programmes across several countries, while firming up strong national and multi-country partnerships with varied stakeholders, including Government, business and industry, multi-lateral agencies, academic and research institutes, civil society organizations focusing on securing the ecological integrity of landscapes, strengthening green investments, and establishing sustainable business models. Working in the development and conservation sector, he has served as a subject expert in ecological conservation and urban planning domain across various national/multi-lateral committees and working groups. He has also advanced habitat protection, conservation analytics, training and capacity building, species recovery/conservation projects, human-wildlife conflict mitigation, rural livelihoods, state of the art landscape level planning, smart green infrastructure, and the application of cutting-edge technology. His collaborative approach is further reflected in the coordination of the U.S. Tigers University Consortium, uniting four leading U.S. universities, and his involvement in the Global Tiger Initiative Council, involving 20 snow leopard and tiger range countries.
Beyond conservation, Mr. Kapoor has also served as a technical expert on the High-Level Committee on Urban Planning for the Government of India, where he shaped landscape scale development strategies for cities near protected areas, developed sustainability KPIs, and fostered green financing mechanisms such as green bonds. He has contributed to India’s first green municipal bond in Ghaziabad, supported the establishment of Southeast Asia’s first tiger reserve, and works to engage varied sectors to support conservation priorities. Mr. Kapoor has undertaken distinctive projects with organizations such as WWF, and is a highly regarded speaker who serves as a committee member on several significant matters. He has authored numerous technical reports and publications and holds a gold medal Master’s in biodiversity and conservation, a postgraduate degree in management, and professional credentials from institutions including the National Parks Institute (University of California) and the George Mason-Smithsonian School of Conservation.