Dr. Bibhuti Prasad Lahkar is the Programme Secretary and Deputy Executive Director at Aaranyak. He also leads the Elephant Research and Conservation Division (ERCD) and the Conservation and Livelihood Division (CLD) of Aaranyak. He has been working with Aaranyak for over 30 years and has completed more than 50 research and conservation projects, funded by various national and international donors.

He is engaged in research and conservation efforts focused on elephants, as well as the restoration of their habitats and the mitigation of human-elephant conflict (HEC) in various regions of Assam, Meghalaya, and North Bengal. He collaborates closely with communities living near protected areas, such as the Manas Tiger Reserve, to empower local youth, grassroots NGOs, and marginalized families to adopt diverse alternative livelihoods.

In 2016, the IUCN World Heritage Programme and the World Commission on Protected Areas awarded Dr. Lahkar the IUCN Heritage Hero Award for his outstanding contribution to the conservation of the Manas World Heritage Site. In 2024, the Earthwatch Institute, Europe, awarded Dr. Lahkar the Neville Shulman Earthwatch Award. Under his leadership, the ERCD of Aaranyak has recently received the Mark Shand Conservation Award from Elephant Family, UK.

Dr Lahkar is a member of the IUCN SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group, a Member of the Commission for Ecosystem Management, and the Commission on World Protected Areas. Dr. Lahkar is also a former member of the Steering Committee for Project Elephant, Government of India.