Draft:Jayant Biswas

Jayant Biswas (born 1964) is a leading Speleologist.. and Cave Activist   from the Indian subcontinent. Biswas obtained his PhD degree in Bioscience with a specialization in Biospeleology from Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, India. Biswas organised the India-based very first research organization "National Cave Research and Protection Organization ", a National level Nonprofit organization.

Dr Biswas is a prominent cave researcher from the Indian subcontinent. His contributions in the field of Cave research in India appeared in priority whenever someone hunted for the topic on the internet. Government or non-government agencies always consider Biswas as the authentic input source about Caves in India whenever required. To honour his works, in the field of Biospeleology, in the year 2021 a cave cricket (species), Arachnomimus (Indimimus) jayanti Jaiswara,  was named on him.

Career
After PhD, in the early life of his career, Biswas served in a few institutions in either research and/or teaching-based positions. Later in the year 2009, he formed a Nonprofit organization "National Cave Research and Protection Organization" with some other researchers in India having a common interest in cave research. At the Indian National level, it is the very first institution in India dedicated to cave Studies. He guided many students toward their Master's and PhD degrees. To create awareness of cave conservation issues, Biswas frequently organizes National and International level Workshop to train budding researchers for Cave studies

Notable contribution
As an activist, Biswas opposes/warns various such programmes/activities which somehow harm the existing notable caves in India In several occasions Biswas has urged the Indian government to frame a proper Cave Protection Act. A policy-based article on the same issue was published in Down to Earth which has already been listed as Parliamentary Documentation (Vol. XLII; No.2. 16-31 January 2016). Dr. Biswas served as a part of the Biodiversity-related Strategy and Action Plan of such states of India which harbours remarkable subterranean caves. " is published in the year 2019.

Editorial work
On behalf National Cave Research and Protection Organization, the very first Text cum Research Reference Book from India, titled "Cave Science, Insight from the Indian Subcontinent" is published in the year 2022. The book is Published by the National cave Research and Protection Organization, edited by Biswas. This book contains a total of Eight Chapters, covering -Indian Caves, -Paleoclimatology, -Biospeleology, -Chiropterology, -Geomicrobiology, -Hydrogeology, -Palaeoanthropology and -Cave Conservancy.

Extra curricular
To create awareness about the caves in India Dr Biswas also started one YouTube channel, where he posts about the facts and figures linked with various caves of India

Notable publications

 * Biswas, J. (2009): Kotumsar Cave biodiversity: a review of cavernicoles and their troglobiotic traits. Biodiversity and Conservation
 * Ruedi, M., Biswas, J. & Csorba, G. (2011): Bats from the wet: two new species of Tube-nosed bats (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Meghalaya, IndiaRevue suisse de Zoologie
 * Sinha, A., Berkelhammer, M., Stott, L., Mudelsee, M., Cheng, H. & Biswas, J. (2011): The leading mode of Indian Summer Monsoon precipitation variability during the last millennium Geophysical Research Letters
 * Sinha, A., Kathayat, G., Cheng, H., Breitenbach, S.F.M., Berkelhammer, M., Mudelsee, M., Biswas, J. & Edwards, R.L. (2015): Trends and oscillations in the Indian summer monsoon rainfall over the last two millennia Nature Communications
 * Li, H., Sinha, A., André, A.A., Spötl, C., Vonhof, H.B., Meunier, A., Kathayat, G., Duan, P., Voarintsoa, N.R.G., Ning, Y., Biswas, J., Hu, P., Li, X., Sha, L., Zhao, J., Edwards, R.L. & Cheng, H. (2020): A multimillennial climatic context for the megafaunal extinctions in Madagascar and Mascarene IslandsScience Advances
 * Harries, D.B.., Ware, F.J., Fischer, C.W., Biswas, J. & Kharpran-Daly, B.D. (2008): A review of the biospeleology of Meghalaya, India Journal of Cave and Karst Studies
 * Wynne, J.J., Howarth, F.G., Mammola, S., Ferreira, R.L., Cardoso, P., Di Lorenzo, T., Galassi, D.M.P., Medellin, R.A., Miller, B.W., Sánchez‐Fernández, D., Bichuette, M.E., Biswas, J. et al., (2021): A conservation roadmap for the subterranean biome Conservation Letters
 * Biswas, J., Sharma, K., Harris, K.K. & Rajput, Y." (2013): Biodeterioration agents: Bacterial and fungal diversity dwelling in or on the pre-historic rock-paints of Kabra-pahad, IndiaIranian Journal of Microbiology
 * Biswas, J., Shrotriya, S., Rajput, Y. & Sasmal, S. (2011): Impacts of Ecotourism on Bat Habitats in Caves of Kanger Valley National Park, IndiaResearch Journal of Environmental Sciences