Kumar grew up in a village along the Nepal–China border, surrounded by wildlife and forests. As a child, he witnessed pangolins being killed and trafficked for the illegal wildlife trade—experiences that shaped his lifelong commitment to conservation. After studying biodiversity in Kathmandu and later at Oxford, he founded Greenhood Nepal to protect the species and ecosystems that defined his early life.

Nepal is a global biodiversity hotspot, home to nearly 3% of the world’s species, yet illegal poaching and wildlife trafficking pose serious threats. Pangolins, the world’s most trafficked mammals, are critically endangered, with an estimated 17,000 individuals poached each year, pushing already fragile populations toward collapse.

Through Greenhood Nepal, Kumar advances science-based conservation by generating research, shaping policy, and strengthening the conservation community. Over the past 13 years, the organization has reached more than 10 million people, trained 1,200 officials to combat wildlife crime, and produced 30 peer-reviewed studies to support long-term protection of Nepal’s wildlife and habitats.