Dr. Jyoti K Sharma, Former Director, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Kerala, India, a Fellow of Phytopathological Society of India, has over 40 years’ of research experience in the field of Forest Pathology, Forestry and Natural Resources Management. Dr Sharma also held additional charge as the Member Secretary, Kerala State Biodiversity Board, Trivandrum, December during the formative years 2005 – 2007 drafting the State Biological diversity rules. He was the founding Professor and Dean, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Doon University, Dehradun.He has over 20 years’ of teaching experience.
He started his career as a Lecturer in Department of Botany, Agra College, Agra in 1967 teaching undergraduate and postgraduate classes. Later, he joined Department of Forestry, Australian National University as a Post-Doctoral Fellow/Visiting Fellow during 1974 – 1978 where he did pioneering work on rust diseases of poplars. Subsequently, in 1978 he joined as Head of Forest Pathology Division in a newly established Kerala Forest Research Institute, where he organised the Forest Pathology Division and conducted research on several tropical tree species, especially eucalypts and teak. He also filed two patents on unique process of teak cloning and design of a field mist chamber for vegetative propagation. He was promoted in 1997 as the Research Coordinator in the Institute. During 1999, he was appointed as the Director Kerala Forest Research Institute and continued in the post until mid-2007 when he joined Doon University. Dr. Sharma has guided 7 doctoral students and published more than110 research papers in national and international journals, books and conference proceedings. Most of his research papers have been published in international journals of repute.
He served as an FAO/IPGRI Expert Member in Expert Committee to Frame Guidelines for safe movement of Eucalypt germplasm in Bangkok, Thailand (November, 1995) and Pine germplasm in Opocne, Prague, Czech Republic (October, 1996).
He worked as an International Forestry Consultant, FAO (UN) in Vietnam, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, East Timor, Thailand working on various forestry problems ranging from Eucalypt diseases in Vietnam, prioritizing forestry research in Myanmar, Assessing leasehold and community forestry in Nepal, drafting a project for biodiversity rules for Bhutan, and drafting Forestry Act for Thailand to promote forestry in private lands in Thailand.
Dr Sharma was Chairman/Coordinator, International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO) Working Party 7.02-07 on Diseases of Tropical Plantations, 1990-2000 and organized and chaired WP Symposium on “Management of Diseases of Economic Importance in Tropical Plantations” during XX World IUFRO Congress in Finland, August 1995 and on “Impact of Diseases on the Sustainability of Tropical Forests” during XXI World IUFRO Congress, August 2000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Dr Sharma has been the recipient of several research fellowships awarded by British Council, Commonwealth Foundation (U.K), NORAD, Norway, JICA, Japan, International Timber Trading Organization (ITTO), Tokyo.
He has been a member of several expert committees of Ministry of Environment & Forests and Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. Currently he is member of Advisory Committee for Ecosystem Research Programme (EcRP) in MoEF & CC and Research Coordination Committee, Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles, GOI.
Research Interests
- Documentation of biodiversity- flora and fauna studies, traditional knowledge
- Weed Ecology, Medicinal plants and their ethnobotanical uses
- Water Pollution and phytoremediation
- Land use land cover changes, urbanization
- Thematic Botanical Garden for Conservation, Research and Extension
AWARDS
1. NORAD Scholarship for participating in XVIIth IUFRO World Congress held in Kyoto, Japan, Sept.-Oct., 1981.
2. Commonwealth Foundation (U.K) Fellowship for participating in IUFRO Working Party Meeting in Victoria B.C., Canada, August, 1990
3. British Council Visiting Fellowship for visiting various research organizations in U.K., August, 1995.
- International Mycological Institute, Eagham
- International Institute of Biological Control, Ascot
- Forestry Commission, Farnham, Alice Holt.
- Royal Botanic Garden. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, and Forestry Commission, Edinburgh and
- Oxford Forestry Institute, Oxford and its Field Station at Wyatham.
- Imperial College, London
4. Visiting Fellowship, International Timber Trading Organization (ITTO), Tokyo, Japan to work on Biochemical and molecular markers in the CSIRO Division of Forestry and Forest Products, Canberra, Australia, 6 June-10 July, 1998.
5. JICA Trainee Fellowship to visit forestry research institutions in Japan for exploring linkages and collaborative work, Jan-Feb, 2004.
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS/NATIONAL AND
INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
International
- Chairman/Coordinator International Union of Forestry Research Organizations
(IUFRO) Working Party 7.02-07 on Diseases of Tropical Plantations, 1990-1995: WP Coordinator 1995 - 2000.
- Organized and chaired WP Symposium on “Management of Diseases of Economic Importance in Tropical Plantations” during XX World IUFRO Congress in Finland. 7-12 August 1995 as a Chairman/Moderator.
- Organized and chaired WP Symposium on “Impact of Diseases on the Sustainability of Tropical Forests” during XXI World IUFRO Congress 7- 12 August 2000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Expert Member, Expert Consultation Meeting to Frame Guidelines for safe movement of eucalypt germplasm, organized by FAO/IPGRI in Bangkok, Thailand, 9-12 November, 1995.
- Expert Member, Expert Consultation Meeting to Frame Guidelines for safe movement of Pine germplasm. organised by FAO/IPGRI in Opocne. Prague, Czech Republic, 14-16 October, 1996.
- FAO International Forestry Consultant in Vietnam “To advise the Vietnamese Government on “Disease problems in eucalypt plantations”. The Consultancy Report was published by FAO,1 April – 31 May 1994.
7. FAO International Forestry Consultant on “Application of Logical Framework Planning
Approach for Identification of Forestry Research Priorities in Myanmar”, 18 February
– 3 March 2007.
8. FAO International Forestry Consultant on “Prioritization of Forestry Research in Myanmar”, 1 May – 2 June 2007.
9. FAO International Forestry Consultant on “Harmonizing and Organizing Institutions to Support Leasehold Forestry in Nepal”, Kathmandu, November – December 2008; February- March 2009; May – June 2009.
10.FAO, UN International Consultant in Bhutan, Formulated of a Technical
Cooperation Programme Proposal for “Development of National Biodiversity Policy
and Legal Framework for Bhutan”, November- December 2009.
11. FAO, UN International Forestry Consultant in Thailand on “Promotion of Small and
Medium Enterprises of Wood Processing Industries in Thailand through Sustainable
Forest Plantations in Private Lands”December- March 2011; October- December 2012.
12. National Consultant, Winrock International/World Bank to review the research work
carried out in Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) Institutes in
India: IFGTB, Coimbatore, Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun and Tropical Forest
Research Institute. Jabalpur. 10-30 June 1997.
13.Authored an invited Chapter on “Management of Diseases in Eucalypt plantations” in
a Book “Diseases of Eucalypts” published by CSIRO, Australia, 2000.
14. Principal Investigator/Collaborator for the Indian case study in a multinational
collaborative research project on “Diseases of Exotic Acacias” in which Scientists
rom India, Indonesia. Malaysia, Thailand and Australia were involved. The project was
funded by the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). Indonesia, and
ACIAR, Australia (1996-1999).
15. Peer reviewed scientific papers for Transactions of British Mycological Society, Indian
Forester, Indian Phytopathology, European Journal of Forest Pathology, Australian
Journal of Biological Sciences, and Canadian Journal of Botany.
16. Countries Visited (Meetings/Conferences/Consultancies): USA, UK, Canada, Finland,
The Netherlands, Japan, S Korea, Czech Republic, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Thailand,
Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Myanmar, Indonesia, East Timor, Nepal, Bhutan.
National
- Fellow of Phytopathological Society of India (FPSI), 1980.
- Advisor for Mycorrhizae (Microbial Biotechnology). Tata Energy Research Institute, New Delhi, 1998-1999.
- Subject Expert, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education to evaluate the research projects sanctioned under ICFRE Research Grant Fund 1998.
- Indian Consultant, Winrock International/World Bank, to review World Bank funded research programmes in Forest Research Institute, Dehradun; Institute of Forest Genetics Ttree Breeding, Coimbatore and Tropical Forestry Research Institute., Jabalpur.
- Member, Expert Committee
i. Biosphere Reserve Committee, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India, 2000-2003.
ii. Ecosystem Research Committee, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India, 2000-2003.
iii. Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats Committee, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India, 2000-2003.
iv. Steering Committee on Biofertilizers (Nutrient Management,
Programme), Department of Biotechnology. New Delhi. 1998-2001.
v. National Steering Committee, TSBF/GEF Project on Below Ground
Biodiversity coordinated by JNU, Delhi, 2004 - 2005; 2007 –2009.
vi. National Advisory Committee, B P Pal Award on Biodiversity, MOEF, 2006-
2009.
vii. Environmental Appraisal Committee (EAC) for EIA for River Valley and
Hydro-electric Projects, MOEF 2007 – 2010, 2011-2013.
viii. Expert Member, Expert Group A - Conservation and Sustainable Utilization
of Natural Resources, MOEF, 2007 – 2010; 2010 – 2013; 2013-2015; 2015-2016.
ix. Expert Member, Research Coordination Committee, Central Silk Board,
Ministry of Textiles, GOI, Bangalore. (2016-2019).
5. Member Secretary (Additional charge), Kerala State Biodiversity Board, (2005-07)
6. Organized Seminars/Workshops/Symposia
- Organized National Seminar on “Eucalypts: Past, Present & Future” at KFRI, supported by MoEF, GOI, September 1986.
- Organized International IUFRO Symposium on “Pests & Diseases in Tropical Forests” at KFRI – September 1994.
- Organized and chaired WP Symposium on “Management of Diseases of Economic Importance in Tropical Plantations” during XX World IUFRO Congress in Finland. 7-12 August 1995 as a Chairman/Moderator.
- Organized International Silver Jubilee Symposium on “Tropical Forestry Research: Challenges in the New Millennium” at KFRI – August 2000.
- Organized and chaired WP Symposium on “Impact of Diseases on the Sustainability of Tropical Forests” during XXI World IUFRO Congress 7- 12 August 2000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Organized International Symposium on “Quality Timber Products of Teak from Sustainable Forest Management” – December 2003 at KFRI sponsored by ITTO.
- Organized a National Seminar on “Bamboo Policy and legal issues in cultivation and utilization of bamboo, rattan and forest trees in private and community lands” , 7-9 August 2001 at KFRI.
- Organized a Workshop on “Conservation and Research Needs of the Rare, Endangered and Threatened (RET) Tree Species in Kerala part of the Western Ghats” – 14 February 2003 at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
- Organized a Workshop on “Bamboo Resource Development and Utilization in Kerala” 22 July 2002 at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
- Organized International Conference on Mountain Biodiversity: Conservation & Sustainable Utilization, March 2009, Doon University, Dehradun
7. Presented several research papers invited/talks in India (New Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram, Vellanikkara (KAU) and abroad (USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, South Korea (Seoul), Czech Republic (Prague).
8. Evaluated several PhD theses and Research proposals in the field of forestry for various
universities and MOEF, DBT, ICAR, Govt. of India.