Born and schooled in Nepal, Anil Chitrakar is trained as an engineer and energy planner at the University of Rajasthan (India) and the University of Pennsylvania (USA). He started his career as an energy engineer at the Academy of Science and Technology, traveling to remote areas in Nepal to transfer renewable energy technologies.

He then launched conservation education campaigns to mobilize the youth and school children to link technical solutions' supply and demand sides and enable learning outside the classroom. He is an Ashoka Fellow. He joined the National Conservation Strategy team for Nepal and went on to head the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN) Nepal office.

Anil focused his efforts on heritage conservation and environmental management across Nepal. In 1993 he was one of the 100 "Global Leaders for Tomorrow" awardees at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He recently received the Tech Award in Silicon Valley for his work on renewable energy technologies. Currently, he is expanding his career in renewable energy, biodiversity, and heritage conservation.

Anil was Chairperson of the Himalayan Climate Initiative and helped launch the 1550 km long Great Himalayan Trail in Nepal. He is also part of the Kailash Sacred Landscape team. Anil is the President of Siddharthinc, a private initiative dedicated to unlocking markets. He has a regular Youtube video-Walkabout in the Nepali Times.