Dr Gautam obtained his PhD from the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS). He has been in the field of Geoinformatics for about 2 decades. He has worked in several national and international level projects like Landscape dynamics and its impact on ecosystem composition, Biodiversity characterisation at the landscape level, Natural Resources Census (NRCENSUS), Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Livelihood Improvement Program amongst many others. Currently, he is a Scientist in Wildlife Institute of India looking after the Protected Area Networks and is also associated with WII-C2C as Faculty In-charge. His research interests include advances in remote sensing, geospatial modelling for issues relevant to sustainable development, data interoperability, ecological modelling, aquatic ecology and climate change. He serves as an expert for the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service (IPBES) and lead author of regional and subregional assessment for the Asia and Pacific. He is currently is an expert in the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas as well as in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th assessment.