Syllabus
Introduction to Sustainable Development: Glimpse into History and Current practices – Broad introduction to SD – its importance, need, impact and implications; definition coined; evolution of SD perspectives (MDGs AND SDGs) over the years; recent debates; 1987 Brundtland Commission and outcome; later UN summits (Rio summit, etc.) and outcome. Ecosystem & Sustainability: Fundamentals of ecology – types of ecosystems & interrelationships, factors influencing sustainability of ecosystems, ecosystem restoration – developmental needs. Introduction to sustainability & its factors, requirements for sustainability: food security and agriculture, renewable resources – water and energy, non-renewable resources, factors and trade-offs, sustainability conflicts, a conceptual framework for linking sustainability and sustainable development.
Dimensions to Sustainable Development – society, environment, culture and economy; current challenges – natural, political, socio-economic imbalance; sustainable development initiatives and policies of various countries : global, regional, national, local; needs of present and future generation – political, economic, environmental.
Gauging Sustainable Development – Sustainability and development indicators and SDGs, UN’s outlook of sustainable development and efforts, UN SDGs – structure, governance and partnerships; communities / society: ensuring resilience and primary needs in society; biosphere: development within planetary boundaries; strengthening institutions for sustainability; shaping a sustainable economy.
Frameworks of Sustainability – Analytical frameworks in sustainability studies, sustainability metrics: criteria and indicators; the significance of quantitative and qualitative assessments of sustainability; current metrics and limitations; metrics for mapping and measuring sustainable development; application of the metrics in real scenarios
Critical Perspectives on Sustainable Development: Resource management and implications on sustainable development, implications for valuation, risk assessment; integrated decision-making processes: requirements of information, information flow, data analytics, learning from historical data, multicriteria decisions, multi level decisions, participatory decisions ; translating impact chains to information flows – impact of governance and policies, management and communication strategies for user adoption.
Case Studies & Projects on Rural Sustainable Development (Indian village perspectives) – Village resources (broad perspectives); current challenges and thematic areas; village social hierarchy; village economy; needs of present and future generation; conflicts – sustainability and rural culture & tradition; road to achieving sustainable development goals – bridging conflicts and way forward.