Pankaj Srivastava Author & Editor

Purushothaman C. Abhilash is a Senior Assistant Professor of Sustainability Science in the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development (IESD) at Banaras Hindu University. He also leads the Agroecosystem Specialist Group of IUCN-Commission on Ecosystem Management. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India. His research interest lies in various inventive methods for restoring marginal, degraded, and polluted lands for regaining ecosystem services. He is particularly interested in system sustainability, circular economy principles, policy realignment, and the localization of UN-SDGs for sustainable development. He is part of the editorial board of prestigious journals on Ecology, Environment, and Sustainable Development, and also serves as a subject expert for UN-IPBES, IRP-UNEP, UNDP-BES Network, IPCC, UNCCD, APN, GLP, and IUCN Commissions (CEM, CEC, CEESP, and SSC) for fostering global sustainability. Sheikh Adil Edrisi works in the field of sustainability analysis of degraded land development for multipurpose environmental benefits. He examines the role of GIS to assess land productivity; bioremediation of contaminated and degraded lands for efficient energy production; and biodiversity restoration and conservation. He is also the Guest Editor of Land (MDPI), and a contributor and reviewer of various international peer-reviewed journals. He is an initial member of the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiatives. He is currently an active member of IUCN-CEM. The author has been awarded best presentation in national and international conferences. He has also received the prestigious Green Talent Award from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany, for 2019. He has also received a prestigious travel grant from the Department of Science and Technology, Science and Engineering Research Board, Government of India (DST-SERB, GoI), to collaborate and present his work in Slovenia (Europe). Pradeep Kumar Dubey’s research interest lies in integrating sustainability research with traditional and ecological agriculture, nature-based solutions, and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. He has validated and demonstrated several resources conserving agricultural practices. He is involved in various extension activities and periodically offers training on adaptive and climate resilient agricultural practices and agrobiodiversity management. His research credentials include international scientific publications, receiving the Young Scientific Award, IUCN-CEM Agroecosystem Specialist Groups, serving as the Managing Editor of Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability and as Guest Editor of Agriculture (MDPI). He is an editorial member of the Agroecosystem Specialist Group, IUCN-CEM, and a Commission Member, CEM-IUCN ‘South Asia’ and ‘Young Professional Network’ for themes of ecosystem services, ecosystem-based adaptation and mitigation, sustainable use and management of ecosystems. Vishal Tripathi holds a PhD in Environmental Science and Technology, Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University. He works in the field of molecular ecology of plant-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere and its utilization in bioremediation for the development of sustainable land restoration practices. Apart from his work on bioremediation of organic pollutants, he has also provided novel insights for bioenergy and phytoproducts synthesis from the biomass of phytoremediation. He is a member of the IUCN-Commission for Ecosystem Management and the Ambassador for the International Hexachlorocyclohexane and Pesticide Association. Currently, he is editing a special issue on ‘Bioremediation of Degraded Soil for Environmental Sustainability’. He has been the recipient of the best presentation award in two international conferences and has also received the AUCBT-Research Excellence Award in 2016 from the Biotech Research Excellence Society, India. Pankaj Srivastava works as a Research Associate at ICAR-IISWC, India. He is an initial member of the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative. He is currently an active member of the IUCN-CEM agro-ecosystem group. He received the Outstanding Reviewer Award (2018) from Energy, Ecology and Environment, Springer, and the Biovision Award (2014) from The World Academy of Sciences (TWAs, Italy). His research interest lies in land restoration, soil and water conservation, sustainability science and climate-resilient agriculture. Apart from his work on restoration of degraded land, he has also provided novel insights into phytoremediation, biofuel, and nature-based solutions for climate change research. He is a reviewer of prestigious journals on land degradation and development, soil and tillage research, Energy, Ecology and Environment, Bulletin of Environmental Contamination. Amitava Rakshit is a faculty member of the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University. His research areas include nutrient use efficiency, simulations modelling, organic farming, integrated nutrient management, and bioremediation. His consulting capabilities are composting techniques, soil health management, and input quality control. He is currently the Chief Editor of the International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Biotechnology. He is a member of the Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition of FAO, Rome, and the Commission on Ecosystem Management of International Union for Conservation of Nature.