Dilli Prasad Poudel
Senior Researcher

Dilli Prasad Poudel holds a PhD in Human Geography from the Department of Geography, University of Bergen, Norway and M. Phil. in ‘Resources and Human adaptations’ from the same institute. Previously, he completed his Master’s in Geography from the Central Department of Geography, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. His PhD research investigates on interrelations of community forestry with REDD+ and traditional institutions, taking Political Ecology and Discourse Analysis perspectives.

Broadly, his research experiences can be categorized into four areas of study: livelihood (urban and rural), forest and REDD+, risk governance and political economy of urbanization, and urban informality and marginality. Currently, he is working on different projects relating to risk and urbanization (multi-hazard risk, informality and marginality, and disaster risk reduction), disaster governance and institutions, migration and agrarian change, forest use and management, and resilience in the context of social and climate change. He has been contributing to science by publishing and/or reviewing manuscripts of national and international journals.

He joined Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies (SIAS) in January 2019. Besides involving in various research projects, he has been contributing to enhancing the quality of publications (reviewing and editing), such as articles, policy briefs, reports and blogs produced by SIAS’s team by reviewing and editing them. He is also one of the Editors of SIAS’s peer-reviewed journal called “New Angle: Nepal Journal of Social Science and Public Policy”. Prior to his PhD he worked as an academic advisor for World Learning School for International Training (SIT study abroad or Graduate Institute, Brattleboro, Vermont, USA) and a Senior Research Associate at Nepal Development Research Institute.

Currently, he involves in the following projects;

1. United Kingdom Research Initiative (UKRI) Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF) funded Multi-Hazard Urban Disaster Risk Transition: Reducing Disaster Risk in “Tomorrow’s Cities”. (Duration: February 2019 – August 2021). See project details:http://www.sias-southasia.org/ongoing-research-projects/gcrf-multi-hazard-urban-disaster-risk-transition-reducing-disaster-risk-in-tomorrows-cities/
2. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) funded “The practice of resilience in mountain landscapes: exploring risk and landscape investments in rural Nepal”. (Duration: October 2019 – December 2022). See project details:http://www.sias-southasia.org/ongoing-research-projects/the-practice-of-resilience-in-mountain-landscapes-exploring-risk-and-landscape-investments-in-rural-nepal/
3. Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF) funded “Political Capabilities”, which investigates Urban equitable resilience challenge aiming to transform the political capabilities of marginalized groups of Kathmandu City. (Duration: January 2020 to December 2022).

Earlier he was involved in a study to examine Nepal’s policy review process with NITI foundation. The study entitled “State-citizen relations and stakeholder deliberation in federalizing Forest Management in Nepal”. (Duration: January 2019 to September.2019, Status: completed). See project details: http://www.sias-southasia.org/ongoing-research-projects/state-citizen-relations-and-stakeholder-deliberation-in-federalizing-forest-management-in-nepal/

Selected Publications

• Poudel, D.P.; Marquardt, K; Pain, A. & Khatri D. B. (2024). De-agrarianisation and re-agrarianisation in patches: understanding microlevel land use change processes in Nepalese smallholder landscapes. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods. Vol … Funded by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet).
• Farnan R. Farnan R. A.; Ensor, J: Shrestha, A.; Poudel D.; Singh, B.; Thinphanga, P.; Hutanuwatr, K.; Subedi, Y.; Lama, S.; Singh, S. & Friend, F. (2024). Knowledge infrastructures, conflictual coproduction, and the politics of planning: A post-foundational approach to political capability in Nepal and Thailand. Political Geography. Vol. 108. Funded by GCRF UKRI
• Poudel, D. P.; Blackburn, S.; Manandhar, R.; Adhikari, B.; Ensor, J.; Shrestha, A. & Timsina, N. (2023). The political ecology of ‘haphazard urbanisation’ and unequal risk creation in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. Vol. 96- funded by UKRI GCRF.
• Khatri, D; Marquardt, K.; Fischer, H.; Khatri, S.; Singh, D. and Poudel, D. P. (2023) Why is farming important for rural livelihood security in the global south? COVID-19 and changing rural livelihoods in Nepal’s mid-hills. Frontiers in Human Dynamics. Vol 5. Funded by the Swedish Research Council.
• M.E. Filippi; A. Barcena; R. ˇSaki´c Trogrli´c; G. Cremen; E.Y. Mentese; R. Gentile; M.J. Creed; L.T. Jenkins; M. Kalaycioglu; D.P. Poudel; M. Muthusamy; V. Manandhar; S. Adhikari; M. Rai; A. Dhakal; B. Barake; K. Tarbali; C. Galasso; J. McCloskey (2023). Interdisciplinarity in practice: Reflections from early-career researchers developing a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow’s cities. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. Vol. 85. – funded by UKRI GCRF. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103481
• Poudel, D.P., Shrestha, A; Khatri, D.B. and Ensor, J. (2021). Editorial: Urbanization and Disaster Risks in the Himalaya.New Angle Vol. 7: 1, pp. 1-10. funded by UKRI GCRF. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53037/na.v7i1.74
• Timsina, N.P, Poudel, D.P., Manandhar, R and Adhikari, B. (2021). Political Economy of Urban Change in Kathmandu Valley: A case from Southern Lalitpur Metropolitan City, New Angle Vol. 7: 1, pp. 11-31. funded by UKRI GCRF. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53037/na.v7i1.75
• Shrestha, A.; Poudel D. P. & Ensor, J. (2021) Inclusive policies, exclusionary practices: unfolding the paradox of prolonged urban informality debates in urbanizing Nepal, Vol. 7 No. 1 – funded by GCRF ESRC. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53037/na.v7i1.66
• Poudel, D. P. (2021). What is an institution: An ontological debate illustrating community forestry of Nepal. The Geographical Journal of Nepal. Vol. 14: 21-40, Central Department of Geography, Tribhuvan University, Kritipur, Nepal.
• Timalsina, M., Joshi, T., Shrestha, S., Poudel, D. P. & Khatri, D (2021) Opportunity and Challenges of the larger-scale water supply project: Insights from the Kavre Valley. In. D. Khatri; K. Neupane & K. Devkota (Eds.) Dhulikhel’s Journey towards water security: Insights for policy and practices. Kathmandu, pp. 32-48, Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies (SIAS), Kathmandu and Dhulikhel Municipality, Kavre
• Poudel, D. P. (2019). Migration, forest management and traditional institutions: Acceptance of and resistance to community forestry models in Nepal, Geoforum, 106, pp. 275-286.
• Poudel, D. P. (2018). Are traditional and modern forestry institutions complementary or do they prescribe contradictory rights in Trans-Himalayan Nepal? A lesson to be learned for REDD+ implementation, Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift – Norwegian Journal of Geography, 72: 1
• Poudel, D. P. & Aase, T. H. (2015). Discourse analysis as a means to scrutinize REDD+: An issue of current forest management debate of Nepal. Journal of Forest and Livelihood. 13: 1
• Poudel, D. P. (2014). REDD+ comes with money, not with development: An analysis of post-pilot project scenarios from the community forestry of Nepal Himalaya. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 21: 6
• Poudel, D. P. & Aase, T. H. (2010). Social Constitution of Livelihood in the Trans-Himalaya: Thini Village, Mustang, Nepal. In Livelihood, environment, enterprises and local government. Eds: Pradhan, P., Khanal, N. R. and Subedi, B. P., pp 135-152, Central Department of Geography, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.