Dr. Rajiv Pandy is a Senior Scientist at the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education and was an Associate Professor at the Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University. He received his Bachelor's degree at the Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University in 1991 and his Master’s degree at the Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry in 1996. He completed his PhD studies at the FRI Deemed University in 2007. His areas of expertise are data analysis, climate change adaptation, social–ecological systems, vulnerability assessment, and forest functioning. He has been figured among the top 2% of world scientists.