Prof. Anantha Duraiappah is IHDP's Executive Director. He is an experienced environmental-development economist whose work largely focuses on the equity of access and use of ecosystem services. In his previous post as Chief of the Ecosystem Services and Economics Unit of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Prof. Duraiappah helped to initiate the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and has since then played a pivotal role in its recent approval. He additionally serves on the scientific committee of DIVERSITAS, one of the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) partners. He has authored two books on environment and international aid and development, as well as articles in several internationally recognized journals. Prof. Duraiappah continues to successfully incorporate his expertise in science-policy interaction, economics, development and ecosystem services into his work at IHDP.