Sanjay Nepal

Sanjay Nepal is a Professor at the University of Waterloo, specializing in human-environment interactions with a focus on tourism sustainability. He holds a PhD from the University of Bern (Switzerland) and an MSc from the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand). Previously, he taught at Texas A&M University (2004–2010) and the University of Northern British Columbia (2000–2004).

His research examines:

• Sustainable tourism economics and policy
• Wildlife-human conflicts in protected areas
• Mountain environment resilience
• Cultural landscapes and indigenous perspectives

Recent publications (2019) emphasize overtourism mitigation, climate adaptation in recreation, and post-disaster heritage recovery, predominantly in Himalayan and marine contexts. Methodologies integrate policy analysis, behavioral psychology, and community engagement frameworks.

Awards:

• Roy Wolfe Award (Association of American Geographers, 2012)

He advises graduate students across 12+ countries and consults for WWF and governments. As President of the Canadian Association of Geographers, he influences national geography and tourism policy.