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Jayant Sarnaik
Practitioner Fellow at International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Location:
India
Project Title: Resource Assessment of High Biodiversity Value Species with a Biofuel Potential in Northern Western Ghats of India
Publications and Presentations: Resource Assessment of High Biodiversity Value Species with a Biofuel Potential in Northern Western Ghats of India
Project Description
There is growing realization that the use of biofuels is one of the possible remedial measures to address climate change caused, in part, by the consumption of highly polluting fossil fuels.
Through his research, Jayant Sarnaik hopes to verify the potential of two plant species with high biodiversity value—Calophyllum inophyllum and Caesalpinia crista—in sustainable biofuel production. These two species are an integral part of mangrove ecosystems and are found along the west coast in India.
"The population of these species is under threat due to unsustainable collection for their only known use—timber and fuel wood," said Sarnaik. "Through my research, the non-timber energy use (biofuel) of these species will be promoted. It is hoped that this particular use would create enough excitement among the users to stop their indiscriminate cutting for timber and fuel wood, ultimately resulting in the survival of viable populations of these important plants."
Sarnaik will be conducting a resource assessment of the two species in the coastal districts of Ratnagiri and Sidhudurg in India's Maharashtra state. This study will determine the present conservation status of these species in the region and bring out crucial information about the possibility of sustainable use of these resources in the development of biofuel.
"One of the most important impacts from this study would be influencing India's biofuel policy," said Sarnaik. "Through the present policy, the government is promoting an invasive, exotic, and toxic species—Jatropha curcas—in all the states of India, irrespective of the different agro-climatic zones and ecological sensitivity of the country's regions. My study will emphasize the use of indigenous species in sustainable biofuel development while highlighting their conservation significance."
He adds that another impact could be the creation of sustainable livelihood opportunities for the coastal communities through collection and processing of the seeds of these species. A third impact would be long-term conservation of these species, along with the mangrove ecosystem.
Biographical Information
Jayant Sarnaik holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Pune in India and a diploma in German language from Ludwig-Maximillian University in Munich, Germany.
Sarnaik developed his passion for plants as a field collector during an assignment for the National Cancer Institute, which is based in Chicago. In 1994, he and a group of taxonomists founded the Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF), a research non-governmental organization. He currently serves as AERF's deputy director and has been associated with every diverse research and implementation project related to conservation.
He has represented AERF at various national and international conferences and forums. He is also associated with the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, an international initiative for formulating sustainability standards for biofuel production that is based out of Lausanne, Switzerland.
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