Dipak R. Pant, an experienced field anthropologist and an (accidental) economist, is the founder and the leader of the first Italian Interdisciplinary Group for Sustainable Economy through which he provides environmentally sustainable and socially sound development policy and planning guidelines for governmental, non-governmental and business organizations in Europe, Asia and in the Americas. Prof. Pant has also been serving as visiting professor and special contributor in the university departments, business schools and natural history museums in Belgium, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Peru, Spain, Sweden, UK, USA and West Indies.
A tireless world explorer, Prof. Pant is regarded as the pioneer of the Extreme Lands Program through which he and his collaborators conduct ethnographic field surveys, economic analysis and collaborative scenario planning (strategic foresight exercise) for human and economic development in the most remote and difficult terrains of the world such as tropical Andes of Peru and Venezuela, central Himalayas (Nepal, India), southern Caucasus (Armenia), deserts of Atacama (Peru-Chile) and the Gobi Mongolia and Inner Mongolia-China), steppes and Taiga of Mongolia. He is the scientific coordinator of the EU-TransMongolia Partnership for Sustainable Tourism and Business Development in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia region of China.
Prof.Pant is credited with shaping the global development debate by linking social and environmental sustainability with market competitiveness through the strategic concept of ‘place-brand’ and by linking good governance with entrepreneurship development through the ‘eco-business incubators’.
Prof. Pant has authored several books and articles on sustainability and serves in the editorial boards in the EnerGeo Magazine (Italy) and Journal of Place Branding (UK).
Born in Nepal, trained in India and Europe, constantly on move to serve various communities and institutions around the world, Prof. Pant is based in northern Italy.