With ten biogeographic zones, 16 different types of forests, over 400 living languages, and a mind-boggling variety of food, India is a megadiverse country. This poses a phenomenal challenge to standard template solutions of development across the country. Moreover, western or technical solutions often have unintended consequences or push problems elsewhere, rather than solving them.
To meet the sustainable development goals and climate targets, India needs to adopt a pathway to economic growth that is relatively decoupled from natural resource consumption and environmental degradation.
The Centre for Sustainable Development (CSD) is engaged in solving real-world challenges in India with an evidence-based approach for equitable, inclusive, and sustainable growth.
Our Theory of Change
What we see around us are symptoms of socio-economic problems. We believe that establishing the root causes of the problems is the first step towards its solution. Identifying the drivers of the causes and the levers of change leads us to a holistic approach for long-term solutions.
Objectives of CSD
01.
To disaggregate the term sustainable development and define its application in local contexts of diversity for India
02.
To contribute towards understanding and the creation of knowledge of social and environmental issues
03.
To understand and evolve pathways for the valuation of the ecological services and natural resources
04.
To assess, evaluate and recommend policies for a low-carbon economy
05.
To incorporate local contexts and diversity in determining climate action
06.
To review the performance of India’s climate action plan and nationally determined commitments & to offer courses in Environmental and Ecological Economics at different levels.
We work on socio-ecological issues, study sustainable pathways, and experiment with solutions that contribute to the UN-SDGs.
Interested in working with us, or engaging in action? Do contact us