About Me:
Mr. BK did his PhD from International Graduate School of Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South Switzerland in colalboraiton with Kathmandu University. His thesis research focused on livelihoods, food security, resource scarcity and exclusion/inclusion issues. Nirmal has 15 years working experiences for Nepal Livelihoods and Forestry Programme of Department of International Development of UK, United Mission to Nepal and German Development Cooperation (GTZ) . He has published half a dozen English articles in peer reviewed journal published in Nepal and abroad in the subject of social and institutional aspect of food security, resource scarcity, political conflict and natural resource management.
Academic Background:
PhD : NCCR North-South/Kathmandu University (2010-2015)
Topic of Research: “Food Security in Resource Scarce Area and the Quest for Inclusion of Marginal Groups in far-western region of Nepal”
Professional Experience:
1. Department for International Development (DFID/UK): Livelihoods and Forestry Programme
Acting Regional Programme Coordinator: June to July, 2010 (1.5 months), in Eastern Region
- Led and managed the LFP regional team including finance and administration.
Deputy Regional Programme Coordinator: July, 2007 to May, 2010 (3 Years) in east region
- Lead/coordinate on implementation of LFP strategy on safe and effective development in conflict and social inclusion programme in Koshi Hills area (7 districts)
District Manager: January 2005 to April 2007 (2.25 Years) in Parbat district
- Led and managed the LFP district team including the district finance and administration.
- Worked as District Emergency Coordinator (DEC), assess the security situation in the district and reported to Risk Management office of DFID and GTZ
District Programme Officer (4.75 years): April 2000 to Dec 2004 (9 months as community forestry officer in Nepal UK community forestry project) in Parbat District
- Worked with a multidisciplinary team of specialist in forest and livelihoods to deliver and monitor programme inputs in the district.
2. United Mission to Nepal (UMN): Dhading Resource Management Project
Community Forestry Officer (One year): October 1999 to March 2000, in Dhading District
- Supported to the District Forest Office and Community Forest User Groups to plan, implement and monitoring of forest management activities.
Relevant Consultancy Services
Evaluation Expert: Final Evaluation and Context Analysis of Multi-stakeholder Forestry Programme. National Planning Commission and UNDP Nepal (Ongoing).
Team Leader: Livelihood assessment study of earthquake affected older people households in Sindhupalchowk, Nuwakot, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Kaski and Chitawan Districts, HelpAge International, Lalitpur Nepal, April, 2016.
Consultant: Mid-term Review: EU NSA/DCA Sustainable agriculture development for smallholder and marginalized farmers in Far-Western hill of Nepal, Dannish Church Aid (DCA), January 2016.
Livelihoods expert: Nepal Earthquake Response 2015: Livelihoods assessment report, Saipu VDC of Ramechhap District and Ragani VDC of Okhaldhunga District, Mission East, 2015
Team Leader: Annual evaluation of district performance of BDSPO (Business Development Service Providing Organization) and DMEGA (District Micro Enterprise Group Association) through Foundation of Development Management (FDM), Micro Enterprise Development Programme (MEDEP), UNDP Nepal, December, 2014.
Team Leader: Case study on impacts of the Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP) IV on marginalized community of Nepal. Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) and the International Centre for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) November 2014.
Team Leader: Final Evaluation and new project design Lutheran World Federation (LWF) project “Enhancing Dignity of Freed Haliyas, Kamaiyas and Kamlaharis (FreedHaKK) Project, Lutheran World Federation, September 2013.
Team leader: Baseline study and project design on people’s perceptions on climate change and right to food in Banke (Terai), Dailekh (Hills) and Mugu (Himalaya) in Nepal. Study report submitted to Food-first Information and Action Network (FIAN), Kathmandu, Nepal, 2013.
Team leader (cross-country study) climate change, community based natural resource management and livelihoods (Nepal, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos). Work in Nepal and Thailand. Report submitted to Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific (RECOFTC), Bankok October 2011.
Team Member: Project evaluation "Improved access to socio-economic opportunities for poor Dalit" (Empowerment – Project). Report submitted to ESP/DFID Nepal, June 2011.
Professional Affiliation
- National Advisor: Dalits Alliances for Natural Resources (DANAR).
- National Advisor: Dalit NGO Federation, Nepal
- Member: Nepal Institute for Policy Studies(NIPS)
- Vice Chair: Forest Action Nepal
- Member: Nepal Research Group
- Fellow : Brown University, USA
- Fellow: International Graduate School, Switzerland
- Member: Human Development and Capability Association, USA
Publications:
Peer reviewed Articles
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Bishokarma, N.K. and Amir, R.M. (2014). Gender and Food In/Security: Food entitlement in resource scarce areas in the far-western region of Nepal.
Journal of Global Innovations in Agricultural and Social Sciences. Vol. 2 No. 1 pp. 45-51Bishokarma, N.K. (2013). Hunger breeds human insecurity: a case from far-western region of Nepal. In S.S. Anil, U.T. Haroon and I Niazi (eds). Sustainable Development in South Asia: Shaping the future. SDPI-Pakistan
- BK, N.K. (2011). Community Forestry and Resource Scarcities to the Poor dalit: A Political Ecology of Community Based Forest Resource Management in Nepal. Journal of Participatory Development. Vol.13 No 12
- BK, N.K. (2010).Maoist People’s War and community adaptation: a case of Community Forestry User Groups Nepal. Journal of Forest and Livelihood. Vol.10 No.1.
- BK, NK and Gyawali, N.R. (2009). Ethno-political Ecology of Social Exclusion: A Discourse in Community Forestry of Nepal. Vikas, Journal of National Planning Commission of Nepal. Vol.30.No.2
- BK, N.K., Shrestha, R., Acharya, S.G. and Ansari, A.S (2009).Maoist Conflict, Community Forestry and Livelihoods: Pro-poor Innovations in Forest Management in Nepal. Journal of Forest and Livelihood. Vol.8. No.2. Pp. 93-1009
- Bishokarma, Nirmal Kumar and Sharma, Sagar Raj (2013).Climate Change and Food Insecurity: Institutional Barriers to Adaptation of Marginal Groups in the Far-western Region of Nepal. In Gaby Kissinger and Mohamed Behnassi (eds). Sustainable Food Security in the Era of Local and Global Environmental Change. Springer
- Yamuna Ghale and Nirmal Kumar Bishokarma (2013) . Food Security: A Fundamental Basis for Human Security. In Bishnu Raj Upreti, Rajan Bhattrai and Geja Sharma Wagle (eds). Human Security. NIPS/NCCR-Kathamndu
International Exposure/Conference
- Community Forestry Practices in Nepal (2009): Paper presented in University of Cumbria , United Kingdom (October, 2009)
- Developing Local Resource Person in Forestry: A Case of Community Forestry of Nepal. Paper presented in international conference on forest education and research in Philippines (November, 2010)
- Climate Change and Livelihoods: Implications of Social Exclusion in vulnerability of food security in Nepal , Germany ( 5-9 December 2010)
- Participated in Commuting Based Climate Change Adaptation workshop in Bangkok organized by RECOFTC (Regional Community Forestry Training Centre for Asia Pasific) (August 2011.)
- Social dimension of climate change and forced migration. Paper presented in Climate Change and Forced Migration in Manila, Philippines organized by ADB (Septemebr, 2011).
- Food entitlement: factors and institutions in resource scarce areas: a study from far-western region of Nepal. Paper presented (With Ass. Prof. Dr. S.R. Sharma) in 3rd International Conference on Research for Development (ICRD 2012) in Bern, Switzerland in 20 – 22 August 2012.
- Intra-household food insecurity: Gender dimension of food entitlement in resource scarce areas in the far- western region of Nepal. Paper presented in the Human Development and Capability Association (HDCA) International Conference, held in Jakarta Indonesia in September 5th -7th, 2012
- Community Based Climate Change Adaptation: a Case of Community Forestry Programme of Nepal. Paper presented in UNU-WIDER Conference on ‘Climate Change and Development Policy’ 28-29 September 2012, Helsinki, Finland.
- Hunger breeds human insecurity: a case from far-western region of Nepal. Paper presented a paper at SDPI's (Sustainable Development Policy Institute) Fifteenth Sustainable Development Conference held in Islamabad, Pakistan: 11 - 13 December 2025
- Food security, livelihood futures & social exclusion. Paper presented at NCCR North-South Synthesis Workshop: Livelihoods Futures (RP2). Held in, Arusha, Tanzania. 14-17 February, 2013.
- Summer School 2013 (International Graduate School North-South), Grand Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire,1–10 September 2013
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Malaysia (24-26 May 2014): Cases and evidence on the role and impact of social forestry in livelihoods and climate change mitigation and adaptation in Nepal. Paper presented in fifth Asian Social Forestry Network international conference in Sabah.
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South Africa (3-12 September 2015): Participated in the pre-Congress training workshop and the XIV World Forestry Congress, in Durban. Supported by International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO).