Dr K J Dantas, Technical Assistant at the State Medicinal Plant Board in Kerala, holds a postgraduate Degree in Botany and a PhD from the University of Calicut. Dr K J Dantas has extensive research experience in Medicinal plants, plant resources of the Western Ghats and Lakshadweep, and Mangrove Ecosystems. He has exclusively covered most of the habitats in the Southern Western Ghats. He is involved in various research projects on Medicinal plants like inventories, resource augmentation, in situ and ex-situ conservation of threatened medicinal plants, QPM production, popularisation of medicinal plants etc. Apart from research in medicinal plants, he is also involved in Habitat management, Floristic inventory, systematics & Phytogeography, Conservation of vulnerable habitats outside forest areas etc.

Focused areas:

• Inventories of medicinal plants.
• Restoration and resource augmentation of commercially important and threatened taxa.
• Popularisation of indigenous species and medicinal plants.

Academics and profession:

• PhD in Botany on the topic “Flora of Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary", University of Calicut (December 2017)
• M.Sc. in Botany, University of Calicut (April 2008)

Recent positions:

• Technical Assistant , State Medicinal Plants Board Kerala.
• Research Scholar, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi

Publications:

Published Books Chapters -2
Research Papers – 12
Abstracts in proceedings- 6
Popular articles - 5