Dr. Shirish Ravan works for the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs in Vienna, Austria. In addition his responsibilities for the Programme on Space Applications, he coordinates the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) globally. The UN-SPIDER has offices in Vienna, Bonn (Germany) and Beijing (China) and is supported by a network of 23 regional support offices in all continents. His previous assignments include leading the UN-SPIDER Beijing Office and Illicit Crop Monitoring Programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Afghanistan. He has extensively worked with the countries in Asia, the Pacific and Africa to offer technical advisory services, institutional strengthening and outreach programmes for promoting applications of space-based technologies.

He brings in a vast experience in use of earth observation and geospatial technologies in the diverse application areas. He holds Bachelor degree in Horticulture, Master in Environmental Sciences and Doctorate in Forest Ecology. He has over 40 scientific publications to his credit.