Yub Raj Dhakal
Chief Environment Researcher
PhD candidate, Environmental Science, Tribhuvan University
20+ years in environmental assessment and safeguards for World Bank, ADB, KfW and IFC projects.
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Environmental research & technology
Science and technology for sustainable development in Nepal
ATERN combines environmental impact assessment, geospatial research and cloud and AI engineering to help government agencies, development partners and businesses plan and build responsibly.
Assessment & safeguards
EIA, IEE and ESIA studies and safeguard supervision to national and lender standards.
Learn moreResearch & GIS
Glacial lakes, watersheds, habitat and climate, studied with satellite and field data.
Learn moreCloud, AI & software
Cloud platforms, machine learning and web and mobile applications.
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20+
Years of environmental and social safeguard practice
About ATERN
Environmental research and technology under one roof
Our researchers have spent years on Nepal’s hydropower sites, highway corridors, national parks and glacial lakes. ATERN combines that field science with cloud computing and machine learning, so environmental evidence is gathered carefully and used well.
- Impact assessment & safeguards
- Glacial lake & hazard research
- GIS & remote sensing
- Cloud, AI & software
What we do
Our services
Commission a single study or combine field science, geospatial analysis and software in one contract.
Environmental science
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA, IEE & ESIA)
Environmental and social impact studies for hydropower, roads, bridges, transmission lines, water supply and industry, prepared to Nepal’s requirements and international lender standards.
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Environmental science
Environmental & Social Safeguards
Safeguard supervision, compliance audits and management systems for projects financed by the World Bank, ADB, KfW and IFC, from construction sites to lender due diligence.
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Environmental science
Glacial Lake & Mountain Hazard Assessment
Satellite mapping of glacial lakes, outburst flood susceptibility assessment, and landslide and flood hazard mapping for communities and infrastructure in the Himalaya.
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Geospatial & technology
GIS, Remote Sensing & Watershed Analysis
Watershed prioritisation, terrain and land-cover analysis, habitat modelling and climate data analysis, using satellite imagery, Google Earth Engine, Python and R.
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Geospatial & technology
Cloud Computing, AI & Machine Learning
Cloud infrastructure, data pipelines and machine-learning models, including deep learning on satellite imagery, for organisations working with large datasets.
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Geospatial & technology
Web & Mobile Software Development
Web platforms, mobile apps and GIS dashboards, designed and built in-house and deployed on dependable cloud infrastructure.
Read more20+
Years of environmental and social safeguard practice
30+
EIA and IEE reports prepared by our researchers
4
Countries with safeguard assignments: Nepal, India, Iraq and Mauritania
1,541
Glacial lakes in our team’s 2017 inventory of the Nepal Himalaya
Our work
View all projects
Recent projects
2018
Geospatial & technology
Red Panda Presence Mapping and Habitat Suitability, Langtang National Park
Field surveys and habitat suitability modelling for the endangered red panda across high-altitude bamboo and forest ecotones, deli...
Ongoing
Environmental science
Tansen Drinking Water Supply Project: Initial Environmental Examination
Initial Environmental Examination for a major drinking water abstraction from the Kali Gandaki River for the Tansen water supply.
2023
Environmental science
Environmental Safeguards, SASEC Highway Improvement Project
Safeguard compliance monitoring and environmental audits for strategic national highway corridors financed by the Asian Developmen...
How we work
From the first site visit to the final report
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01
Scope the work
We confirm the site, the national requirements and lender standards, and what the work must show.
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02
Collect field data
Physical, biological and socio-economic baselines, and consultation with affected communities.
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03
Analyse
Satellite imagery, terrain, climate records and field data combined in GIS, with machine learning where useful.
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04
Deliver
Reports and management plans to regulator and lender standards, plus dashboards or software when needed.
Our team
Meet our experts
Researchers in environmental science, geography and mountain hazards, working with engineers in cloud computing and AI.
Shravan Kumar Ghimire, PhD
Human Geographer & Spatial Analyst
PhD, Human Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences
GIS and remote sensing specialist in watershed science, habitat modelling and environmental assessment.
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Nitesh Khadka, PhD
Glacial Lakes & Mountain Hazards Researcher
PhD, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Postdoctoral Researcher, Tribhuvan University
Researches glacial lakes and outburst flood hazards in the Nepal Himalaya using satellite data.
View profileKabindra Koirala
Chief Technical Officer & Consultant
Cloud computing, AI and machine learning
Leads our technology work in cloud computing, AI/ML, and web and mobile development.
Research
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Latest publications
Publication · 2026
Glacial Lake Observatory (GLO): annual dataset of glacial lakes in Nepal and transboundary catchments (2017–2024)
An annual, satellite-derived record of glacial lakes across Nepal and its transboundary basins, mapped with deep learning from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel...
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Publication · 2026
Identifying optimal subwatershed delineation thresholds using variance-based segmentation in the Central Himalaya
A statistical method for deciding how finely to divide steep Himalayan catchments into sub-watersheds, replacing arbitrary manual choices.
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Publication · 2025
An improved framework to prioritize sub-watersheds: construction of Watershed Morphometric Composite Index (WMCI) for mountain soil conservation
A composite index that combines linear, areal and relief measurements of catchments to rank which mountain sub-watersheds most need soil conservation.
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Have a project in mind? Let’s talk.
Tell us about your site, data or deadline. Our team replies to every enquiry within one working day.