Ashok Khosla
Ashok Khosla (born 31 March 1940 in Lahore, then British India) is an Indian environmentalist based in Delhi. After Partition, his family moved to Delhi in 1947. He earned an MA in Natural Sciences from Peterhouse, Cambridge, and a PhD in experimental physics from Harvard University. As a graduate student, he met Roger Revelle and helped design and teach India's first undergraduate environment course in 1965. He and Revelle also co-authored The Survival Equation: Man, Resources, and His Environment, a key early text in the field.
Khosla helped shape sustainable development in India and worldwide. He led the establishment of India's Office of Environmental Planning and Coordination (OEPC) and worked with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to introduce methods for environmental assessment, pollution control, and conservation. In 1976, he joined the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as the first Director of Infoterra, building a global environmental information system and a network of thousands of NGOs. He contributed to the World Conservation Strategy and to promoting practical, policy-relevant approaches to sustainable development.
In 1983, Khosla founded Development Alternatives (DA), a not-for-profit organization that blends social objectives with business-style management to deliver environmentally sound development, especially for rural India. DA focuses on environmental practices, technology, and institutional change to reduce poverty and protect resources. He later led major international bodies, serving as President of the IUCN from 2008 to 2012 and President of the Club of Rome from 2005 to 2012, and he is a member of the World Future Council. Through these roles, Khosla has been influential in shaping sustainability ideas and policy at both national and global levels.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:42 (CET).