Mr Lars Engvall
1979 to 1994
Mr Lars Engvall was the Founding Director of the BOBP when it was established by FAO in 1979. During his tenure till 1994, he was responsible for shaping up the vision and activities of the BOBP and laying the foundation for its success.
Mr Engvall built-up a multi-disciplinary team and embarked on carrying out extensive training/workshops/consultations to chart a growth path of the fisheries sector in the Bay of Bengal region, with special focus on small-scale fisher communities in the Bay of Bengal, through funding from SIDA and DANIDA.
He had staunch interest and expertise in small-scale fisheries development and management, in pursuance of which, he travelled across the globe from Africa to Middle east, Europe and finally South Asia heading major projects. Mr Engvall started the Bay of Bengal News and made significant personal contribution to it to taking it to the masses (1981–1993 a total of 52 issues). Mr Engvall got his degree in Economics and Business Administration and received his Master’s degree in (Marine/Shipbuilding Engineering) from Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
After relinquishing the responsibility at BOBP, Mr Engvall served as freelance consultant until recently (2019) on a multitude of different fisheries projects and on missions for formulation, review and evaluation of such projects. This included Team Leader positions on ADB fisheries management projects in Indonesia and Sri Lanka; on FAO rehabilitation projects in Sri Lanka after the Tsunami (2005) and in Myanmar after cyclone Nargis (2008); and on the formulation of the US 20 mill. Dollar Regional Fisheries Livelihood Programme in SE-Asia.
Dr Kee Chai Chong
1994 to 2000
Dr Kee Chai Chong took over as Director of the BOBP in December 1994 and continued till July 2000. Before joining BOBP, he was a Research Management Specialist of the World Bank Project on Agricultural Research Management in Indonesia.
Under his leadership, BOBP saw the generation and extension of new technologies to better conditions of fishers though higher incomes. The Programme was active on many fronts, developing more effective fishing boats and gear, extension techniques, aquaculture and post – harvest technologies and resource knowledge. Dr Chong was instrumental is seeding the idea that BOBP should evolve as an inter-governmental body, a dream hitherto, fulfilled.
Being a prolific writer, Dr Chong wrote a number of articles on various aspects of fisheries management. Dr Chong holds a Masters in Fisheries Economics from University of Hawaii and PhD in Marine and Resource Economics from Oregon State University, USA.
Dr Yugraj Singh Yadava
2000 to 2021
Dr Yugraj Singh Yadava joined as Director of the erstwhile BOBP in 2000 and facilitated its transformation as an Inter-Governmental Organisation in 2003, in which he continued as Director till his retirement in 2021. Dr Yadava started his professional career in 1976 as a Scientist with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). He went on to serve as Fisheries Development Commissioner to the Government of India during 1994 – 2000. He served as the first Member Secretary of the Aquaculture Authority of India, currently the Coastal Aquaculture Authority of India.
Dr Yadava made notable contributions to the global agenda on fisheries and aquaculture. As the Government of India’s representative to the Twenty-second Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) in 1997, he proposed the setting up of the COFI Sub-Committee on Aquaculture (SCAQ) and in 2000 he served as the Vice-Chair of the FAO Expert Consultation to frame ‘Rules of Procedure’ for the SC-AQ. In 1999, at the Twenty-third Session of COFI, he contributed as founding member of the Regional Fisheries Bodies and later became the Vice-chair of the Regional Fishery Body Secretariats Network at its Fourth Meeting held in Rome on 13 July 2012. Besides extensively working in the BOBP-IGO member-countries, Dr Yadava also worked on different projects in Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. A cogent and prolific writer and a photographer, he published about 150 papers in books, research journals, scientific and popular magazines and reports.