Thomas Mathew

Trustee

Mr Thomas Mathew was appointed as the Executive Director of ANCF in July 1, 2007 and was subsequently appointed as a Trustee in February 2013. A biochemical engineer and environmental scientist by training with a Bachelor of Technology degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India( 1969 ) and a Master of Science in Bio Chemical Engineering fromRutgers University, New Jersey, USA ( 1972 ), Mr Mathew has over 35 years of professional experience in conservation planning and environmental management. As a former Director of Conservation in the Asia Programme of the World Wildlife Fund, USA,( 1994 – 1999) he managed the planning and implementation of conservation programmes in China, Nepal, Bhutan, India, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Prior to his term at WWF US, he was Secretary General and CEO of WWF India ( 1987 – 1993) , the country’s largest conservation organization. As head of WWF India Mr Mathew also directed a major biodiversity conservation programme in the Eastern Himalaya under a $400,000 grant from the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, USA. Mr Mathew served as Chairman of the Conservation Project Planning Group (Asia and the Pacific) of WWF International, Switzerland.

In 1998 Mr Mathew co-founded the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), a Delhi-based non-government conservation organisation, and served as its Chairman till September 2005.

Mr Mathew has been a consultant to the World Bank, the Global Environmental Facility, UNEP and UNIDO. In recognition of his services to international conservation Mr Mathew was appointed Officer of theOrder of the Golden Ark in 1994, by HRH Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands. In 1998 Mr Mathew was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for his contributions to conservation.

He has been a primary author for 24 technical reports/publications on environmental planning and management.