Anil Kumar, a 2007 Watson International Scholar of the Environment , is director of the biodiversity program of the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation in India. He received his PhD in systematic botany from Calicut University and his MSc in botany from Kerala University in Kerala. He is the author of Floristic Studies of Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, India. His most recent research includes a regional survey of wild edible plant species and rare, endemic, and threatened plant species of the Western Ghat region in India. He is also involved in a series of initiatives that facilitate sustainable agricultural and rural development in the region.
As a scientist in biodiversity, he has published 16 research papers, two books, 21 extension publications, and 11 popular articles in subjects ranging from biodiversity, conservation, ethnobotany, and floristics/taxonomy. As a recognized PhD advisor for systematic botany at the University of Madras, he has contributed greatly toward the understanding of threatened angiosperm plant species of his country.