India, July 17 -- Dr Vivek Saxena, the senior-most Indian Forest Service officer of the Haryana cadre from the 1991 batch and a regular contributor to The Pioneer, has been selected by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a desk reviewer for UNESCO World Heritage nominations for the 2027 World Heritage Committee session. The recognition that comes as he prepares to retire on July 31, 2026, after a 34-year career with Haryana Forest Department.

IUCN is the official Advisory Body for natural heritage under UNESCO's World Heritage Convention and provides technical and scientific advice to the World Heritage Committee on nominations for natural and mixed heritage properties across the world. Reviewers are selected on the bas...