YAO TANDONG

WHY HIM? More than one billion people might unknowingly depend on the work of Tandong, the director of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research and chair of the Third Pole Environment programme, which is researching the effects of global warming on the Tibetan plateau. One of the most isolated and hostile environments in the world, the Tibetan plateau is the source of 10 rivers that collectively provide drinking water, hydropower and irrigation to more than a fifth of the world’s population. THAT’S NOT ALL In 2017 he became the first Asian winner of the prestigious Vega Medal for outstanding research, which was presented to him by the king of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf.