Publications

Nature-based solutions (NbS) for Rural Livelihoods

Article

| February 14, 2025

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can create sustainable rural employment by leveraging ecosystem restoration, agroforestry, and sustainable farming. With potential to generate 20 million jobs by 2030, NbS offers long-term livelihood opportunities for India's rural workforce.

दिल्ली में बढ़ता वायु प्रदूषण संकट: बदलते स्रोतों, AQI रुझानों और स्थानीय-क्षेत्रीय योगदान का गहन विश्लेषण

Article

| January 28, 2025

दिल्ली की बिगड़ती वायु गुणवत्ता ने जीवन स्तर को गंभीर रूप से प्रभावित किया है, जिससे निवासियों को गंभीर स्वास्थ्य समस्याओं और दैनिक कठिनाइयों का सामना करना पड़ रहा है। यह स्थिति अब एक बड़े सार्वजनिक स्वास्थ्य संकट में बदल चुकी है। पिछले दो दशकों में प्रदूषण के स्रोत बदल गए हैं, और कई उपायों के बावजूद शहर खतरनाक वायु गुणवत्ता से जूझ रहा है। दिल्ली में वायु प्रदूषण इतना व्यापक हो चुका है कि यह निवासियों के स्वास्थ्य, कल्याण और भविष्य के लिए खतरा बन गया है।

Technical note on steps in baseline quantification for ARR carbon finance projects using remote sensing and GIS.

Research Paper

| January 6, 2025

This technical note outlines a systematic approach to baseline quantification for ARR (Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation) carbon finance projects using advanced remote sensing (RS) and GIS methodologies. This approach particularly addresses India's fragmented landscapes, aiming to integrate small and marginal farmers into carbon finance markets, thus enhancing agroforestry potential and providing additional income generation.

Advancing India’s Agroforestry Potential: Leveraging Technology and Community Approaches for Sustainable Development

Research Paper

| December 31, 2024

Agroforestry, a sustainable land management practice integrating trees with crops and livestock, holds immense potential for climate change mitigation and enhancing rural livelihoods in India. This article explores the synergy between advanced Remote Sensing (RS) technologies, such as vegetation indices like NDVI, and participatory approaches involving Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), cooperatives, and other farmer collectives.

Assessing forest biomass changes in Pench Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India with remote sensing and machine learning approaches

Research Paper

| November 27, 2024

This study explores the use of remote sensing and machine learning approaches to monitor forest biomass changes in the Pench Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India. It integrates Earth observation data and advanced computational models to assess biomass dynamics, providing critical insights into forest management and conservation efforts. The research underscores the potential of geospatial technologies in supporting sustainable practices, biodiversity conservation, and carbon sequestration initiatives, aligning with India's commitments to environmental sustainability.

Turning trash into treasure: conversion of agroresidue rice straw into carboxymethylcellulose biopolymer

Research Paper

| November 25, 2024

In the present study, rice straw-derived cellulose was converted into carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) using alkalization followed by an etherification reaction. The synthesis conditions for this chemical modification were optimized such that CMC with a high degree of substitution (1.02) was obtained. Infrared spectra of the synthesized CMC clearly showed an increased intensity of the C═O bond at 1600cm−1, confirming successful carboxymethylation.

Financing Just Transition: Synergies between NCQG and JTWP

Policy brief

| November 18, 2024

The discussions and negotiations for the JTWP and the NCQG so far reflect the broader challenge of aligning global ambitions with practical actionable steps towards equitable climate action. Looking ahead, the JTWP has the potential to be a framework for deeper, more effective collaboration towards a collective narrative around implementing the Paris Agreement through just transition pathways at global as well as national scales, leading to tangible progress towards a sustainable and equitable future. This potential cannot be realized without a commensurate outcome of the NCQG process.

Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Diets in India: A Systems Strengthening Perspective

Research Paper

| November 18, 2024

India is currently in a totally different arena since the Green Revolution era with formidable challenges of nutritional security and sustainability of production systems. To enable a diagnostic analysis of India’s food and land use systems and towards identifying the issues and prospects of the concept of sustainable diets in the Indian context, the book chapter analyses the determinants of sustainable diets from a sustainability and public health perspective.

Reconciling Value Trade-Offs in Advancing Sustainable Development Goals: Risks and Opportunities

Research Paper

| November 14, 2024

This chapter discusses the centrality of sustainability as a meta-concept shaped by everyday negotiation of the trade-offs between various public values. It uses the political, legal, organizational, and market public values frames to articulate sustainable development as an effort at public value creation.

Biodiversity and Land Restoration in India: A Narrative of India's Sustainability Efforts Vis-à-vis the World

Policy brief

| November 12, 2024