Gyanu Maskey, the Program Director at the Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies, specializes in the study of intersection of science, policy, and practice. With over a decade of experience, her expertise encompasses water, forest, agriculture, and climate, with a focus on governance, justice, equity, and inclusion. She is finalizing her Ph.D. in Development Studies at Kathmandu University School of Arts and her research centers on urban water security in Nepal in the context of urbanization and climate change. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Environmental Science from Tribhuvan University.
She is working in a number of research projects: ‘Climate and Migration’, ‘Co-producing a shock resilient business ecosystem for women-led enterprises in Nepal’ and ‘Governing climate resilient futures: Gender, justice and conflict resolution in resource management’. Besides research projects, her role at SIAS has been in project management and communication, organizing dialogues and events, review and analysis, advising website management and editorial support in publications. She is also the managing editor of internationally peer reviewed Journal “New Angle: Nepal Journal of Social Science and Public Policy” on specific issues including Urbanization and Disasters. Prior to this, she has worked in a number of research projects including ‘Conflict, Violence and Environmental Change, ‘Conflict and Cooperation over REDD+ in Nepal, Vietnam and Mexico, ‘Rethinking Environment and Development in the Era of Global Norms: An Exploration of Forests and Water in Nepal, Sudan & Uganda’. She has also managed a number of seminar series, capacity development trainings and contributed in the overall development of SIAS.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Maskey, G., Pandey, C.L. and Giri, M., 2023. Water scarcity and excess: water insecurity in cities of Nepal. Water Supply. IWA Publishing. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2023.072.
- Khatri, D., Maskey, G., Ojha, H., Neupane, K.R. and Nightingale, A., 2022. Governing disaster risks locally: Insights from COVID-19 responses by local governments in a federalising Nepal. New Angle: Nepal Journal of Social Science and Public Policy, 8(1).
- Pokharel, K., Devkota, K., Fischer, H. and Maskey, G., 2022. Implications of decentralisation for disaster governance in Nepal’s federalism: Case study of COVID-19 response of four selected local governments. New Angle: Nepal journal of social science and public policy, 8(1), pp.1-20.
- Khatri, D.B., Nightingale, A.J., Ojha, H. Maskey, G. & Lama ‘Tsumpa’, P.N., 2022. Multi-scale politics in climate change: the mismatch of authority and capability in federalizing Nepal, Climate Policy, DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2022.2090891.
- Maskey, G., Pandey, C., Bajracharya, R.M. and Moncada, S., 2021. Inequity in water distribution and quality: A study of mid‐hill town of Nepal. World Water Policy, 7(2), pp.233-252.
- Bhattarai, B., Upadhyaya, R., Neupane, K.R., Devkota, K., Maskey, G., Shrestha, S., Mainali, B. and Ojha, H., 2021. Gender inequality in urban water governance: Continuity and change in two towns of Nepal. World Water Policy.
- Ojha, H., Neupane, K.R., Khatri, D., Devkota, K., Maskey, G., Dahal, N., Joshi, T. and Kovacs, E.K., 2020. Urban water security in South Asia: Crucial policy lessons from the Nepalese town of Bidur. World Water Policy.
- Maskey, G., Pandey, C.L. and Shrestha, K. 2019. Securing water in the rapidly urbanising global South: insights from critical analysis of sectoral policies in Nepal. New Angle: Nepal Journal of Social Science and Public Policy, 6(1), pp.1-23.
- Pandey, C.L., Maskey, G., Devkota, K. & Ojha, H., 2019. Investigating the Institutional Landscape for Urban Water Security in Nepal. Sustainability: The Journal of Record, 12(3), pp.173-181.
- Dhungana, H. and Maskey, G., Natural Resources and Social Justice agenda in Nepal: From Local Experiences and Struggles to Policy Reform. New Angle: Nepal Journal of Social Science and Public Policy, 5(1), pp.5-29, December 2018.
- Dhungana, H. and Maskey, G., Hydropower Policy and Site-Level Contestation under the Political Transition: Challenges for Ending the Power Cut in Nepal. Journal of Forest and Natural Resource Management, 1(1) January, 2019.
- Khatri, D., Maskey, G. and Adhikari, B., 2018. REDD+ and Community Forestry in Nepal: Strengthening or paralyzing decentralized governance? Journal of Forest and Livelihood, 16(1), October 2018: Forestaction, Nepal.
- Satyal, P., Corbera, E., Dawson, N., Dhungana, H & Maskey, G., 2018. Representation and participation in formulating Nepal’s REDD+ approach, Climate Policy, DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2018.1473752.
- Satyal, P., Sikor, T., Dhungana, H. and Maskey, G., 2018. Brokering justice: global indigenous rights and struggles over hydropower in Nepal. Canadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue canadienne d’études du développement, pp.1-19.
