Board of Directors

International development policy specialist with 25 years of experience across South Asia and Southeast Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Thailand), Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Pacific Small Island Developing States. Expertise in policy advisory, climate change, conservation, agriculture, trade, and sustainable development. Proven leadership in advancing agriculture, environment, trade, and economic agendas in collaboration with governments, multilateral organizations, and international bodies.

From 2021–2023, worked with Conservation International (CI), the Pacific Community (SPC), and the University of the South Pacific (USP) on coastal marine conservation in Fiji, Kiribati, Palau, Samoa, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Focus areas included climate change impacts on fish stocks and ocean currents, sustainable Fish Aggregating Devices (biodegradable, non-entangling materials), and mitigation of interactions with endangered and protected species.

Has worked with governments and UN agencies in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Fiji, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Palau, Philippines, Samoa, Tajikistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, and Viet Nam. Holds Master’s Degrees in Business Administration and International Development, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Economics.

Dasho Karma is the Zimpon Wom (Deputy Chamberlain) at the Secretariat office of Her Majesty The Queen. He now heads the Queen’s Project Office. Prior to his current appointment, he served as the Deputy Chief Livestock Production Officer at the Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests (MoAF). He holds a Master’s in Biology from the University of New Brunswick, Canada.

Mr. Karma Tenzin serves as the Director of the Department of Forests and Park Services under the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. He has over 24 years of experience in the Department of Forest and Park Services, with roles including serving as the Ethnobotanist, Park Manager, Divisional Forest Officer, and national coordinator for forest and wildlife crime.

With a Master’s Degree from Cornell University, USA in Natural Resource Management (Ethnobotany), he is skilled in protected area management, sustainable forest management, community-based natural resource management, forest policy implementation, nature-based tourism and climate change mitigation.

With active engagement in the adoption of the Spatial Monitoring and Report Tool (SMART) for monitoring field interventions and leading protection ranger teams, he received the 3rd Jigme Singye Wangchuck Outstanding Environmental Stewardship Award for efforts in protecting biodiversity.

He is an avid photographer and has co-authored the book titled, ‘A Photo Guide to Flowers of Bhutan’. He currently serves as the President of the Bhutan Archery Federation under Bhutan Olympic Committee.

Tandin Wangmo is a development professional with over 20 years of experience in Bhutan’s public and civil society sectors. She currently serves as Executive Director of the Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy (BCMD), where she leads initiatives to strengthen democracy, civic engagement, media literacy, and inclusive public discourse.

Her expertise includes governance, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, resource mobilisation, and multi-stakeholder engagement. She began her career in 2004 at the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources and later held key roles at the former Gross National Happiness Commission Secretariat, contributing to resource mobilisation, donor coordination, and the formulation of Bhutan’s Five-Year Plans. Her work has focused on integrating gender equality, environmental sustainability, climate change adaptation, disaster resilience, poverty reduction, and the Sustainable Development Goals into national development planning.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science from Sherubtse College and a Master’s in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

Yonten Gyamtsho currently serves as the Director of the Department of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests (MoAF).

He began his career with the Ministry as a Deputy Fodder Officer and later served as Laboratory Manager at the National Seed Center in Paro under the MoAF. From 2013 to 2016, he was posted as Counselor (Trade) at the Royal Bhutan Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Prior to his current appointment, he served as the Chief Marketing Officer under the Department of Agricultural Marketing and Cooperatives, MoAF.

Yonten Gyamtsho holds a Master’s degree from Imperial College at Wye, London, United Kingdom.

Dr. Karma currently serves as the Managing Director of BTFEC. Prior to this role, he worked as a freelance consultant for nearly eight years in the fields of conservation and ecotourism, following a distinguished career of over 20 years with the Department of Forests and Park Services.

He holds a Master’s degree from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD from the University of Sydney, specializing in conservation and sustainable tourism.

Dr. Karma began his career as the National Tiger Coordinator under the Department of Forests and Park Services, a role that provided him the opportunity to travel extensively across Bhutan. A firm believer in incentive-based conservation, he played a key role in promoting nature recreation and ecotourism programs within the department.

Some of the notable highlights of his career include serving as a voluntary militia officer for nearly five years, conducting tiger surveys in the grasslands of Nepal, undertaking internships in several iconic national parks in the United States, and evaluating tourism campsites in the Serengeti and Masai Mara as a National Geographic evaluator.

A proactive leader, Dr. Karma founded the Bhutan Sustainable Tourism Society (BSTS), creating a platform for like-minded individuals to support and promote sustainable tourism in Bhutan.

His professional affiliations include:

• Board Member, Asian Ecotourism Network
• International Evaluator, National Geographic and Beyond Green (promoting green travel)
• Chair, IUCN Green List Program of Bhutan

Dr. Kinley currently serves as the Executive Director of the Royal Society for Protection of Nature. Prior to assuming this role, he was the Program Director at the Renewable Natural Resources Research and Development Center (RNR-RDC), Yusipang, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests.

He earned his Bachelor of Science in General Forestry from the University of the Philippines Los Baños. He later obtained a Master of Science in Resource Management from the University of Edinburgh, UK, and completed his PhD in Forest Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria, in 2008.

Dr. Kinley began his career in March 1997 as a Forestry Research Program Officer at the Renewable Natural Resources Research Center (RNR-RC), Jakar. In 2005, he was transferred to RNR-RC, Yusipang, as Deputy Chief Research Officer, and in 2009, he returned to RNR-RC, Jakar, in the same capacity. In recognition of his expertise and extensive research experience, he was appointed Program Director at RNR-RC, Yusipang, in 2010.

Throughout his career, he has actively participated in numerous national and international conferences, seminars, and training programs. He has also authored and co-authored several significant publications in the field of forestry and ecosystem research.