Policy Brief

Sustainable Urban Development: Necessity of Integrating Water-Energy-Food Dimensions in Developmental Policies

01 Oct 2016
| Dr Shresth Tayal
| Ms Swati Singh

India is in a state of transition from traditional rural economy to a modern industrial economy. However, with increasing urbanization it faces challenges in terms of population rise, unplanned urbanization, climate change and degraded ecosystem which pose major impediments towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals. As on 2015, 400 million people reside in urban India and by the year 2050, the number of people living in Indian cities is expected to be about 840 million, which will further aggravate the issues of water, energy and food security.

Road Map for Mainstreaming Urban Climate Resilience in Goa

26 Jul 2016
| Ms Riya Rahiman

This policy brief is based on the learning that emerged from The Energy and Resources Institute's (TERI) two-year long program on 'State-level policy engagement for mainstreaming urban climate resilience' in Goa and Uttarakhand, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation under its Asian Cities Climate Change Resilient Network (ACCCRN) initiative. ACCCRN—a 9-year initiative (2008–16)—has been instrumental in bringing forth the urban climate change resilience agenda to cities in Asia.

Road Map for Mainstreaming Urban Climate Resilience in Uttarakhand

26 Jul 2016
| Ms Riya Rahiman

This policy brief is based on the learning that emerged from TERI's two-year-long program on 'State Level Policy Engagement for Mainstreaming Urban Climate Resilience' in Goa and Uttarakhand, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation under its Asian Cities Climate Change Resilient Network (ACCCRN) initiative. ACCCRN—a 9-year initiative (2008–16) has been instrumental in bringing forth the urban climate change resilience agenda to cities in Asia. In India, with ACCCRN's support, various cities, viz.

Discussion Paper: Suggestions for an Appropriate Environmental Governance Architecture for India

15 Feb 2016
| Mr S Vijay Kumar

The Discussion Paper examines the current architecture of the main environment related legislations, namely the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972; The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; and The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, in the context of the Constitutional provisions and the evolution of approaches to better environmental management, including those emanating from international conventions.

Discussion Paper: Modelling Urban Carrying Capacity and Measuring Quality of Life using System Dynamics

11 Feb 2016
| Mr Mihir Mathur
| Mr Kabir Sharma

An outcome of urban growth is concentration of population and businesses. As the population of an urban area increases, so do diverse concerns and problems including issues of servicing large number of people with existing, limited resources. Environmental problems, particularly pollution and water scarcity, have become more prominent and worrisome in recent times and are central issues for urban planners and decision makers. To address these complex problems, practical approaches that incorporate the concept of carrying capacity into managing urban development are needed.

Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) Towards Cleaning India: A Policy Perspective

31 Aug 2015
| Dr Girija K Bharat
| Dr Syamal Kumar Sarkar

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals have emphasized on the achievement of universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water and adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all 1(Box 1). India has been able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the water sector, but it has been lagging in the sanitation sector. According to the recently launched Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP)2 update (2015), about 564 million people practice open defecation in India out of 946 million open defecators of the world. As of 2015, about 10 percent of urban population of 419 million resort to open defecation (OD) in India.

Sustainability Dynamics of Resource Use and Economic Growth

31 Aug 2015
| Mr Mihir Mathur
| Swati Agarwal

All economies of the world depend upon the use of renewable natural resources1 for their growth. This relationship inherently reflects that continued increase in extraction of resources is a must to sustain economic growth. Inevitably, a tipping point is reached from where the regeneration rates of the resources diminish due to depletion of the resource stock. The resource production peaks and declines which lead to a delayed feedback on the economy, ultimately restricting its ability to grow and sustain its level of output.

Solar PV for Enhancing Electricity Access in Kenya: What Policies are Required?

01 Jul 2015
| Dr Debajit Palit

Modern energy services are crucial to human well-being and to a country's economic development; and yet globally over 1.3 billion people are without access to electricity and 2.6 billion people are without clean cooking facilities. More than 95 per cent of these people are either in Sub-Saharan African or developing Asia and 84 per cent are in rural areas (International Energy Agency, 2015). Sub-Saharan Africa is rich in energy resources but very poor in energy supply, making the region have highest access deficit in electrification rate, only just managing to stay abreast of population growth.

Towards a Policy for Climate Resilient Infrastructure and Services in Coastal Cities

11 Jun 2015
| Dr Divya Sharma

The policy brief is based on the learning that emerged from TERI's year-long study which looked at the impacts of Sea Level Rise (SLR) and other climate parameters such as storm surges and extreme rainfall on infrastructure and services of coastal cities. Granted by USAID as part of their Climate Change Resilient Development (CCRD) - Climate Adaptation Small Grants Program, the thematic area for the study was 'Climate Resilient Infrastructure Services'(CRIS) and the case study cities were Panaji in Goa and Visakhapatnam or Vizag in Andhra Pradesh.

Discussion Paper : Moving Forward with a World-class Mineral Policy for National Mineral Security

09 Jun 2015
| Mr S Vijay Kumar

The National Policy 2008 was a significant step in the evolution of India's Mineral Policy based on the experience of the Policy of 1993. The policymakers were fortunate in having at hand the recommendations of the High-level Committee (popularly called the Hoda Committee) which not only analysed the situation in the Indian context, but also looked at the international context and global best practices. The NMP 2008 comprehensively outlines the policy solutions that need to be established to address the challenges that are being faced by the minerals sector in India.