The conventional economic model has had its share of criticism from sections of society. That the markets have failed to allocate resources equitably, or solve the tragedy of the commons, or preserve the ecological integrity of the planet, is hardly disputed. However, there is yet no agreement on what could be the alternate model for sustainable development.

Currently, there is a widening gap between India’s carbon emissions and her natural sequestration capacity. India needs economic growth to fund the development of infrastructure, healthcare facilities and education, especially in rural areas. There is a humungous opportunity to create new jobs in a low-carbon economy. Developing a decentralised circular economy, which encourages switching to sustainable and renewable materials, reduction and reuse of waste is possible in every industrial sector and has the potential to create new jobs. However, there is also a rising demand for ecological restoration, conservation of ecosystems, management of natural resources and this sector too requires trained human resources. The Centre encourages research and experiments in this area, to explore new pathways which lead to equitable, inclusive and ecologically sound social development.

India has an unparalleled megadiversity. The Indian landscape has significant variation in altitude, precipitation and temperatures, which has led to a remarkable diversity in soils. Human-nature relations have evolved around these differences, and that has manifested in the diverse social and food cultures prevalent in India.

For such a megadiverse nation, climate action cannot be ‘one size fits all’. The Centre invites researchers to participate in studying the diversity which exists in rural and vulnerable communities, the agro-economic diversity, and the human use of natural resources. We believe, this research will lead to pathways and solutions that are built around the socio-economic and socio-environmental aspects of human societies.

The changing climate has imposed serious problems of scarcity and abundance of fresh water in all parts of India. Some districts have had a intense rains leading to flooding and landslides, while others have had droughts. Natural disasters are not just affecting the life of people, but also crippling local economies, as witnessed in Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttarakhand in the recent years.

The SIU has world-class facilities and competencies in healthcare, and we invite researchers to take up studies which contribute to developing solutions in managing epidemics, policy the changing

The gap between carbon emissions and the natural sequestration capacity cannot be completely closed. There is a need to develop technologies which can capture carbon, store it and use this carbon as a renewable resource. It is imperative to test these emerging technologies in Indian context, examine their cost effectiveness and explore business models to operationalize them.

This holds the key to saving the ecological integrity of the planet. When ecosystems break down, so do ecological services, which are the backbones of the life sustaining capacity of the planet. At SCCCS, we believe that India needs to invest in ecological restoration of degraded landscapes, wetlands, marine ecosystems and rivers. This holds a tremendous potential in improving the carbon sequestration capacity and is critical for the health of society. The rising ingress of zoonotic diseases into the human kingdom are a result of degraded ecosystems and broken food chains.