Surendra Shrestha is the Director of the newly established position of Director of Strategic Resource Mobilization and Special Initiatives of UNEP in April 2008. He oversees UNEP's strategic resource mobilization and relevant policy development, working closely with various development partners of UNEP.

He brings to UNEP more than twenty years of expertise in mobilizing political and financial support for UNEP's programmes and leading multi-disciplinary teams in the areas of assessment, policy development and multilateral agreements at regional and global level.

Prior to his appointment, Surendra worked as UNEP's Regional Director and Representative for Asia and the Pacific. He spearheaded the formulation of the UNEP Asia Pacific strategy and implementation plan. Before joining UNEP, he previously held senior positions at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Surendra is a national of Nepal.