SAYANTA GHOSH
Energy and Resources Institute, G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Development, National Academy of Agricultural Research Management
Research areas: Environmental Science · Global and Planetary Change · Land Use and Ecosystem Services · Remote Sensing in Agriculture · Disaster Management and Resilience
0000-0002-9324-0366
About
I am a Remote Sensing and GIS specialist with over nine years of professional experience in forestry, carbon finance, and climate change mitigation, with a strong focus on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) across forested, agroforestry, and coastal landscapes. I currently work as Associate Fellow and Area Convenor at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, where I lead geospatial and analytical components of large-scale carbon finance and natural resource management projects.
I have contributed to more than 28 voluntary carbon market projects under internationally recognized standards such as Verra (VCS), Gold Standard, and Plan Vivo, covering REDD+, ARR, IFM, agroforestry, and blue carbon interventions across multiple Indian states. My core technical expertise includes spatial modeling, AI/ML-based biomass estimation, carbon stock and sequestration mapping, degradation and leakage analysis, and MRV system design using multi-source Earth observation data.
I have been actively involved in baseline assessments, feasibility studies, project design documents (PDDs), monitoring reports (MRs), and carbon accounting workflows for forestry and agroforestry projects that contribute directly to India’s climate mitigation goals and rural livelihood enhancement. I have supported projects under MoEF&CC, the National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS), and several State Forest Departments, including landscape-level vulnerability assessments and decision-support frameworks for climate-smart planning.
I currently serve as a Technical Review Panel (TRP) Member with the Plan Vivo Foundation, contributing to methodological reviews of NbS and agroforestry carbon projects globally. I have authored over 40 publications in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, and national media such as The Hindu, The Financial Express, The Telegraph and Hindustan Times, focusing on forestry, carbon markets, and geospatial technologies. I have represented India at ESA-ESRIN, EGU, AGU, COP29 & COP 30.
I hold multiple postgraduate qualifications in geospatial science, artificial intelligence, environmental law, and marine sciences, and I am a life member of ISRS, ISPRS, IMS, ACM, and the Society of Wetland Scientists.
Employment
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Energy and Resources Institute Senior Associate Fellow2026 - Present
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Energy and Resources Institute Associate Fellow & Area Convenor2022 - 2026
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G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Development Modelling and Forecasting of High Impact Weather Events2020 - 2022
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National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj NEC sponsored project entitled “Generation, mapping and web publishing of geodatabase on shifting cultivation by rotation cycle using geo-spatial technologies: A study of seven districts of NE India”.2018 - 2019
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National Geophysical Research Institute Holocene Evolution of Krishna – Godavari Delta and Shoreline Dynamics2014 - 2014
Education
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National Academy of Agricultural Research Management Certificate Course: AI in Agriculture2024 - 2024
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Indian Institute of Science Training on Glacier Studies and Remote Sensing2022 - 2022
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National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology Certificate Course in Programming in Python2021 - 2021
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National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology - Chennai Certificate course in Data Science and Machine Learning2021 - 2021
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National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology Certificate Course in MATLAB Programming2021 - 2021
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National Institute of Disaster Management Certificate Course on “Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management Framework”2020 - 2020
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National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology - Gorakhpur Certificate Course in Web Designing2020 - 2020
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Environment Protection Training and Research Institute Certificate Course in Environment Impact Assessment (Level-6 of NSQF)2019 - 2020
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National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj P.G. Diploma in Geospatial Technology Applications2017 - 2018
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Barasat Government College B.Sc. Honours
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University of Calcutta M.Sc.
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University of Hyderabad M.Tech.
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North Eastern Space Applications Centre Certificate Course in "Satellite Meteorology and its Applications in Numerical Weather prediction"
Projects & Funding
Projects & funding information is unavailable.
Publications (92)
- Why carbon markets cannot close India’s nature-finance gap Save
- India should build a biodiversity credit market — now Save
- India’s carbon market needs a firewall Save
- Steel Slag: An Emerging Carbon Opportunity for India Save
- Fields of gold Save
- Nature finance in India needs bankable projects first Save
- India needs a digital infrastructure for nature Save
- India’s carbon-sink target needs a land-accounting revolution Save
- From paddy fields to carbon markets: India’s next farmer-income opportunity Save
- Biodiversity spending must pass outcomes test Save
- India Needs a Blue Carbon Compact Save
- Mangroves need a new financial grammar Save
- India’s New Rice Carbon Market Needs a Farmer-Income Architecture Save
- India’s carbon credit market needs evidence before it scales Save
- From biogas plants to climate-resilient farms Save
- Restoring land, financing hope Save
- Why feasibility matters for land-use projects in India [Commentary] Save
- AI for Restoring Degraded Lands: Mapping Degradation, Predicting Climate Risk and Valuing Ecosystem Services Save
- Forest vs tree cover: A farm with trees is not a forest. Save
- Grasslands are India’s hidden carbon bank Save