Jagadish C. Pokharel

Dr. Pokharel born in Nepal in 1953.  He had schooling in Nepal and India. Received Bachelor of Architecture from University of Thessaloniki, Greece, 1978, Masters Regional Planning, University of Hawaii, USA in 1985 and Ph. D. in Regional Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA in 1991.

Dr. Pokharel served about 5 years as Member of National Planning Commission and Vice Chairman, NPC between 2006-08 and 2009-2010. He has As VC on NPC he led Nepal’s post-conflict national development planning. He guided and led country’s physical infrastructure, decentralized governance, environmental and social development planning. He has led high-level national delegations of Nepal to various international forums including ESCAP meetings, SAARC Poverty Summit, World Mountain Summit, Social Summit and Millennium Summit among others.   He served as independent expert advisor to Nepal Government and consulting services to World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and UN agencies.

Dr.  has published a book in 1996 with the title, “Environmental Resources Negotiation Between Unequal Powers” that elaborates on the bargaining leverages that weak nations can bring in when they are engaged in negotiation with more powerful countries.  He has written numerous seminar papers and news-paper articles.  Understanding the role of power in planning and policy making is his research interest.

Dr. Pokharel is associated with several professional and civil society organizations.  He is Immediate Past President of Regional & Urban Planners Society of Nepal (RUPSON), President of Center for Consolidation of Democracy  (CCD), President of Nepal Institute for Urban and Regional Studies (NIURS), Governing Board Member of Community of Evaluators South Asia (COESA), Past President of Rotary Club of Lalitpur Midtown, Life Member of Nepal Engineers Association, Society of Nepalese Architects, Community of Evaluators Nepal among others.