Browsing by Author "Pandey, Deep Narayan"

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Climate Change Impacts, Mitigation and Adaptation: Science for Generating Policy Options in Rajasthan, India
(2010) Singh, Vijai Shanker; Pandey, Deep Narayan; Gupta, Anil K.; Ravindranath, N. H.
"This report reviews the published research on climate change impacts, mitigation and adaptation with specific focus on Rajasthan, India. The science-based insights shall remain crucial to generate and implement policy options to address the challenges of climate change. The report provides process guidance for designing adaptive policy and actions. It is argued that giving clear priority to those developmental activities in Rajasthan that meet a combined set of seven climate-proofing criteria, which can be verified through measurable indicators for ecological, economic and social sustainability shall be essential (i) Reduction and/or sequestration of greenhouse gases, (ii) biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functioning, (iii) enhancing the yield of livelihoods goods and services to local people, (iv) reduction in poverty and vulnerability, and improving the resilience and adaptive capacity, (v) local empowerment and capacity development, (vi) synergy with objectives of international instrument and conventions, and (vii) coherence with local strategies for sustainable development. Filtering from these standards, we found that several activities being carried out under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) address both poverty and climate change. The land-based activities being done under MNREGA enhance resilience and reduce vulnerability, and thus contribute both to climate change adaptation and mitigation. The report also provides abstracts of the research articles and publications that policymakers can use to design evidence-based policy responses in various domains of governance. We also provide a selection of examples on using science to generate policy responses for Rajasthan. These examples are drawn from diverse domains such as water, energy, dryland and desert, protected areas, and urban systems. This selection of examples, hopefully, shall facilitate policymakers and practitioners working in diverse governance domains to use the literature included in this document for designing appropriate policy options for climate change mitigation and adaptation in Rajasthan."
Connecting Science to Decision Making for Combating Desertification in India
(2006) Pandey, Deep Narayan
"Sustainable development that promotes ecological sustainability and human well-being is a practical necessity of our times. Ecological sustainability can not be achieved without reducing poverty and provisioning for the just and dignified improvements in livelihoods. Likewise, nor can sustainable human well-being be achieved without sustainable environmental management. Therefore, investing in creation, communication and linking knowledge to field and policy action is necessary for both poverty reduction and ecosystem sustainability. Linking knowledge to action is necessary to concurrently combat desertification and ensure livelihoods of people dwelling in dry tropics. Scientists and practitioners are required to be aware of the intricacies about what makes knowledge applicable and what it takes to produce the science that makes an impact on the ground."
Contributions of Center for International Forestry Research to Local Livelihoods and Sustainability Science for Tropical Forests: A Select Bibliography
(2004) Pandey, Deep Narayan
"The document provides an introduction on sustainability science and list of articles, books and other publications by scientists working at CIFOR. Abstracts of the publications are also provided. Contributions of Center for International Forestry Research to local livelihoods and sustainability science for tropical forests is a select bibliography."
Critical Necessity of Local Monitoring and Enforcement for Sustainable Governance of Forests
(2009) Pandey, Deep Narayan
"A large number of variables may potentially determine the success or failure of sustainable governance of forests, yet the success in finding the necessary condition has remained elusive. Recently, the Nobel Prize for 2009 in Economic Sciences has been awarded to Elinor Ostrom who made major contributions to our understanding of the governance of forests and common pool resources. Ostrom has spent considerable amount of time and efforts with the International Forestry Resources and Institutions programme that produced some of the most useful research relevant to practitioners of natural resource management. This paper reviews the recent research that clearly demonstrates that even when a number of other factors are taken into account, higher levels of local monitoring and enforcement of locally-made rules can result in improved regeneration and lower the possibility of forest degradation across a variety of ecological, economic and social contexts. This understanding has immediate practical utility for joint forest management in India."
Critical Necessity of Local Monitoring and Enforcement for Sustainable Governance of Forests
(2010) Pandey, Deep Narayan
"A large number of variables may potentially determine the success or failure of sustainable governance of forests, yet the success in finding the necessary condition has remained elusive. Recently, the Nobel Prize for 2009 in Economic Sciences has been awarded to Elinor Ostrom who made major contributions to our understanding of the governance of forests and common pool resources. Ostrom has spent considerable amount of time and efforts with the International Forestry Resources and Institutions programme that produced some of the most useful research relevant to practitioners of natural resource management. This paper reviews the recent research that clearly demonstrates that even when a number of other factors are taken into account, higher levels of local monitoring and enforcement of locally-made rules can result in improved regeneration and lower the possibility of forest degradation across a variety of ecological, economic and social contexts. This understanding has immediate practical utility for joint forest management in India."
Direct Sowing and Planting of Salvadora persica (Linn.) and Salvadora oleoides (Decne.) for Ecological Restoration and Livelihoods Improvement in Thar Desert
(2008) Pandey, Deep Narayan
"Salvadora persica Linn. and Salvadora oleoides Decne. are two important species of western Rajasthan. In Thar desert, their wide ranging ecological, social and economic importance on the one hand and declining population on the other necessitates that the species are included in restoration programmes. Taking stock of the new advances in research and field experience on both the species, this technical note provides guidelines for raising S. persica and S. oleoides in Thar desert. In particular, both the species are capable of regenerating through direct seeding and planting of nursery-raised seedlings in the field. Thus, we need to enhance our efforts in incorporating these species in afforestation and restoration in Thar desert. This document is the first in a series of technical notes to support connecting science to decision making aimed at bridging the science--management divide in Jodhpur Forest Circle.
Equity in Climate Change Treaty
(2004) Pandey, Deep Narayan
"The Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change seeks to achieve climate stability and sustainable development through global cooperation. Even with spectacular advances in climate science, projected economic and health benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation, and presence of all the key elements for an effective treaty in the Kyoto Protocol, climate change negotiations remain inconclusive. Arguably, this is so because a widespread concern on equity is yet to be resolved. Here I reexamine the equity in climate change treaty. Political leadership, scientific community and civil society in several nations have maintained that the democratic norms for climate governance are a prerequisite for crafting a successful climate change treaty. Principle of equal per capita emission entitlements is now emerging as the key option beyond current impasse. Although not required under the Kyoto Protocol several developing nations are taking responsible action to mitigate climate change. Principle of equal per capita emission entitlements is a just solution to successfully implement climate treaty aimed at climate change mitigation, adaptation and sustainable development. Without a full and unequivocal commitment to equity and democratic governance by a cohesive humanity, any international climate change treaty will have only limited utility."
Evidence-Based Holistic Restoration of Lake Anasagar, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
(2013) Pandey, Deep Narayan; Gopal, Brij; Sharma, K.C.
"This report has been prepared with the aim to apply the principles of sustainability science for long-term sustainability of lake Anasagar of Ajmer. Drawing on the scientific, experiential and traditional knowledge, this report provides an evidence-based strategy for restoration of lake Anasagar. There are multiple stressors degrading the Lake Anasagar including disposal of raw sewage and municipal wastewater, discharge of detergents, discharge of residual pesticides and chemical fertilizers, sedimentation due to soil erosion in the catchment, and challenges of land ownership and encroachment. In order to address these challenges and stressors, a holistic restoration strategy has been proposed for Lake. The key interventions suggested here are waste and sewage management, forest restoration in the watershed, sequential restoration of vegetation in sand dunes, management of urban green infrastructure, periodic sediment removal from lake, macrophyte restoration in littoral zone of lake, recovery of full costs of, and reinvestment in, urban services, and appropriate institutions, governance and collaboration."
Global Climate Change and Carbon Management in Multifunctional Forests
(Current Science Association/Indian Academy of Sciences, 2002) Pandey, Deep Narayan
"Fossil fuel burning and deforestation have emerged as principal anthropogenic source of rising atmospheric CO2 and the consequential global warming. Variability in temperature, precipitation, snow cover, sea-level and extreme weather events provide collateral evidence of global climate change. I review recent advances on causes and consequences of global climate change and its impact on nature and society. I also examine options for climate change mitigation. Impact of climate change on ecology, economy and society?the three pillars of sustainability?is increasing. Emission reduction, although most useful, is also politically sensitive for economic reasons. Proposals of the geoengineering for iron fertilization of oceans or manipulation of solar flux using stratospheric scatters are yet not feasible for scientific and environmental reasons. Forests as carbon sinks, therefore, are required to play multifunctional role that include, but are not limited to, biodiversity conservation and maintenance of ecosystem functions; yield of goods and services to the society; enhancing the carbon storage in trees, woody vegetation and soils; and providing social and economic well-being of people. This paper explores strategies in that direction and concludes that the management of multifunctional forests over landscape continuum, employing tools of conservation biology and restoration ecology, shall be the vital option for climate change mitigation in future."
Linking Knowledge to Action for Sustainable Development in India
(2007) Pandey, Neha; Prakash, Chandra; Pandey, Deep Narayan
"Sustainable development is driven by knowledge because progress of society towards sustainability is a knowledge-intensive enterprise. Investing in creation, communication and linking knowledge to field and policy action is therefore necessary for ecological, economic and social well-being. While India ranks very high in terms of number of research papers published annually, when it comes to linking that knowledge to action for bringing human development it ranks very poorly. "The Human Development Index (HDI) for India is 0.611, which gives India a rank of 126th out of 177 countries. Drawing on the pioneering efforts on linking knowledge to action, here we argue that in order to reduce poverty and bring sustainable human development a concerted effort is required to design and implement strategies for connecting science to decision making across scales and sectors in India. We present a potential strategy for connecting science to decision-making. Good research is required to produce knowledge and a robust knowledge supply-chain is essential to link knowledge to policy and field action. We call upon the scientists to employ strategies for co-production of knowledge, and for people to engage in capacity building programs to employ co-synthesis of knowledge useful to solve the field problems. Practitioners and policy makers on their part are expected to link that knowledge to both field and policy to design and implement interventions for sustainable development."
Linking Local Knowledge to Global Markets: Livelihoods Improvement through Woodcarving in India
(2007) Pandey, Neha; Garg, A.K.; Malhotra, Rakesh; Pandey, Deep Narayan
"Role of traditional knowledge for the conservation science is acknowledged but the evidence related to its direct contribution to livelihoods and household income is often overlooked. Recent importance to woodcarving in India provides opportunity to explore if, and under what conditions, traditional knowledge on woodcarving contributes to livelihoods improvement and household incomes. There is a paucity of good studies on woodcarving in India but the preliminary information provides inference that a comparatively much better policy and governance, good infrastructure and a growing tourism play vital role in supporting local artisans and entrepreneurs to use their traditional knowledge for generating large household incomes. Although it seems plausible that local knowledge can support livelihoods improvement with suitable interventions, robust studies are urgently required to provide operational models for linking livelihoods and conservation through trade in woodcarving. Suitably designed action research is likely to provide insights for supporting livelihoods through woodcarving as well as promoting the tree-growing in agroecosystems to supply raw material for woodcarving enterprise."
Local Enforcement as a Critical Driver for Sustainability of Forests
(2008) Pandey, Deep Narayan
"A large number of variables may potentially determine the success or failure of community-based forest management. Yet the success in finding critical drivers has remained elusive. A research network called International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) through its large-N studies is attempting to precisely resolve this issue. Although the larger question is not fully settled, local enforcement has emerged as one of the most important determinants of sustainable governance of forests and protected areas. Drawing on the recent work of Chhatre and Agrawal (2008) this policy-brief provides justification for instituting local monitoring and enforcement systems in the field. The new research clearly shows that even when a number of other factors are taken into account, higher levels of local enforcement can result in improved regeneration and lower the possibility of forest degradation across a variety of ecological, economic and social contexts. This understanding has immediate practical utility in the field. We are now at a juncture when enough science is available to persuade practitioners to craft robust systems of monitoring and enforcement. Practitioners themselves have argued earlier that given the stakes and complexity involved, the crux of the sustainability of joint forest management is the proper monitoring and adaptation. IFRI study should provide us a conclusive evidence for giving the desired thrust for local monitoring to generate context-specific knowledge, and local enforcement to link that knowledge to action."
Local Monitoring and Enforcement as Critical Drivers for Sustainability of Forests and Protected Areas
(2008) Pandey, Deep Narayan
A large number of variables may potentially determine the success or failure of forest and protected area management. Yet the success in finding critical drivers has remained elusive. A research network called International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) through its large-N studies is attempting to precisely resolve this issue. Although the larger question is not fully settled, local monitoring and enforcement has emerged as one of the most important determinants of sustainable governance of forests, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and protected areas. Drawing on the recent work of IFRI research programme, this review provides justification for instituting local monitoring and enforcement systems in the field. This document is part of the ongoing series of technical notes to support connecting science to decision making aimed at bridging the science-management divide. The new research clearly shows that even when a number of other factors are taken into account, higher levels of local enforcement can result in improved regeneration and lower the possibility of habitat destruction across a variety of ecological, economic and social contexts. This understanding has immediate practical utility in the field. Also, because this review paper draws on the robust research available world-wide, it has applicability in a diversity of geographical contexts, including India. We are now at a juncture when enough science is available to persuade practitioners to craft robust systems of local monitoring and enforcement. Practitioners themselves have argued earlier that given the stakes and complexity involved, the crux of the sustainability of forests and protected areas is proper monitoring and adaptation. Accumulating scientific understanding should provide us a conclusive evidence for giving the desired thrust for local monitoring to generate context-specific knowledge, and local enforcement to link that knowledge to action in forests and protected areas in Rajasthan."
Mine Spoil Restoration: A Strategy Combining Rainwater Harvesting and Adaptation to Random Recurrence of Droughts in Rajasthan
(2005) Pandey, Deep Narayan; Chaubey, Avanish C.; Gupta, Anil K.; Vardhan, Harsh
"Rajasthan presents evidence for the existence of one of the most advanced works of ancient mining and accompanied deforestation globally. Mining continues to be an important economic activity in Rajasthan. However, economic benefits of mineral extraction also accompany environmental, economic and social costs. Mine waste dumps and mined out areas viewed simply as the legacies of past may appear overwhelming environmental hazards presenting ugly picture of cultural landscape. However, mine wastes can be transformed into an opportunity for learning, adaptation and productivity enhancement for sustainable livelihoods through ecological restoration. Here we propose a strategy for mine spoil restoration aimed at creating a multifunctional ecosystem in mine waste dumps. We suggest that dredging and sediment removal from traditional tanks and ponds can potentially be used to prepare the substratum over the mine wastes for direct seeding. It will also create enhanced decentralized water storage capacity for wildlife and people. Our strategy combines the concomitant revival of traditional water harvesting systems, ground water recharge, enhanced biomass production and an adaptation to random recurrence of droughts in Rajasthan."
Rainwater Harvesting as an Adaptation to Climate Change
(Current Science Association/Indian Academy of Sciences, 2003) Pandey, Deep Narayan; Gupta, Anil K.; Anderson, David M.
"Extreme climate events such as aridity, droughts, floods, cyclones, and stormy rainfall are expected to leave an impact on human society. It is also expected to generate widespread response to adapt and mitigate the sufferings associated with these extremes. Societal and cultural responses to prolonged drought include population dislocations, cultural separation, habitation abandonment, and societal collapse. A typical response to local aridity is the human migration to safer and productive areas. However, climate and culture can interact in numerous ways. We hypothesize that people may resort to modify dwelling environments by adapting new strategies to optimize the utility of available water by harvesting rain rather than migrating to newer areas. We review recent palaeoclimatological evidence for climate change during the Holocene, and match that data with archaeological and historical records to test our 'climate change-rainwater harvest' hypothesis. We find correlation between heightened historical human efforts for construction of rainwater harvesting structures across regions in response to abrupt climate fluctuations, like aridity and drought. Historical societal adaptations to climate fluctuations may provide insights on potential responses of modern societies to future climate change that has a bearing on water resources, food production and management of natural systems."
Sacred Water and Sanctified Vegetation: Tanks and Trees in India
(2000) Pandey, Deep Narayan
"Indian villages are famous for their traditional water management. This includes, in particular, village tanks (also called village ponds), one of the most notable examples of riparian commons. There are between 1.2 to 1.5 million tanks still in use and sustaining everyday life in the 0.66 million villages in India. Tanks have been the most important source of irrigation in India. Some tanks may date as far back as the Rig Vedic period, around 1500 B. C. "Studies of village settlement and collective efforts to create tanks are well documented. Similarly, studies of tanks as the source of irrigation, fish, ground water recharge and other products also exist. "The traditional knowledge of tank construction, maintenance, and customary planting and sanctification of tree groves on earthen embankments and islands within the impounded area has, however, been overlooked. These islands, known locally as lakheta, are constructed of soil and act as refuges for plants and animals. Such groves are prominent parts of the village commons in India, and serve vital social, religious, ecological, and economic functions. "Rulers, zamindars (landlords), talukdars (feudal lords) and village communities took a keen interest in tank construction in pre-independent India. Abolition of zamindari and talukdari in the post-independent era led to an end of private ownership, and the ownership of confiscated tanks were vested mostly in State Governments and, in some cases, in village panchayats. Thus, tanks became commons, and all farmers in the command area received access to water and groves. This, however, also results in a gradual breakdown of the traditional system of repair and maintenance of the tanks. In the process of destruction of village tank commons, many revert to private and/or open access regimes. The paper presents the traditional knowledge connected with the collective creation of groves on tank embankments and tank islands. The compensatory conservation of wild vegetation adjoining the tanks, in lieu of the vegetation that may have been submerged because of the tank construction, is discussed. The functions that these riparian commons continue to serve are addressed. Drawing upon the specific case of 12 village tanks in the Kota district of Rajasthan, the paper discusses institutional arrangements connected with participatory efforts to revive, create, and support modern and viable common regimes of groves on tank embankments and tank islands, and the compensatory sanctification of the adjoining vegetation."
Sustainable Housing: Balancing Environment with Urban Growth in India
(2012) Singh, Vijai Shanker; Pandey, Deep Narayan
"By 2030, according to the projections of the United Nations (UN) Population Division, each of the major regions of the developing world will hold more urban than rural dwellers; by 2050 fully two-thirds of their inhabitants are likely to live in urban areas. By 2050, India is likely to be the most populous country with a projected population of 1.69 billion. It is estimated that over 70 million new urban housing units will be needed over the next 20 years in India. This unprecedented urbanization has implication for ecological, economic and social sustainability. Here we argue that to balance environment with urban growth, we shall have to draw on multiple branches of knowledge and concepts including Sustainable communities, sustainable cities, livable cities, green cities, prosperous cities, eco-cities, healthy cities and resilient cities. These concepts provide us networked and intricately linked action points that would need to be integrated to achieve a balance between urbanization and environment. Accordingly, we provide evidence-based suggestions on creation and management of green infrastructure, wastewater treatment, recycling and appropriate use, waste management, green transportation, affordable housing, energy, and finally, recovery of full costs of, and reinvestment in, urban services. The Analysis we have provided in this review offers a workable and practical philosophy that can be translated in the field from the perspective of balancing urban growth and environment in India. All these actions need to be incorporated for implementation in the master plan of the individual cities or regional master plan of the area to achieve ecological, economic and social sustainability."
Urban Forests and Open Green Spaces: Lessons for Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
(2010) Singh, Vijai Shanker; Pandey, Deep Narayan; Chaudhry, Pradeep
"In an era of global climate change and rapid urbanization, innovations on governance of urban systems are critically required as 50% people are now living in less than 3% of the earth’s urbanized terrestrial surface. Without careful production of knowledge, and large investments to link that knowledge to action, cities will be overwhelmed with environmental challenges. Both policy and science now emphasize the critical necessity of green areas within urban social-ecological systems. Here, we review the present status of urban forestry across the world, and draw lessons that can be applied for the governance of urban green spaces during the development of Jaipur as a world-class city in Rajasthan. We find wide variation both in coverage as well as per capita availability of green spaces. There are, however, some discernible trends emerging from cities renowned for their urban green spaces: approximately 20 to 30% coverage of the total geographical area, and 15 to 25 m2 urban green spaces per capita. World Health Organization suggests ensuring at least a minimum availability of 9 m2 green open space per city dweller. Finally, we provide strategies and lessons for connecting science to decision-making aimed at creating multifunctional landscapes to enhance urban resilience and human well-being."
What Makes Joint Forest Management Successful? Science-Based Policy Lessons on Sustainable Governance of Forests in India
(2010) Singh, Vijai Shanker; Pandey, Deep Narayan
"Forests are vital for social, economic, ecological and environmental reasons. They play an important role in ecosystem processes (such as the biogeochemical and hydrological cycles), they provide habitat for wildlife and serve as sources of biodiversity, and they offer protection against soil erosion. Forests are also among the most effective systems for air pollution abatement and ground water recharge. In this era of global warming, forests help mitigate the effects of climate change, and maintain biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. However, in spite of their obvious value, human activity is causing unprecedented threats to forest ecosystems. Therefore, a serious attention to the factors that lead to effective forest governance is essential to address forest restoration and management challenges in India. A large number of variables are suggested in literature that may potentially determine success or failure of sustainable governance of forests, yet the success in finding the most essential factor for sustainability has remained elusive. This paper reviews recent research and demonstrates that even when a number of other factors are taken into account, higher levels of local monitoring and enforcement of locally-made rules can result in improved forest restoration and lower the possibility of forest degradation across a variety of ecological, economic and social contexts. It is essential to emphasize here that strong autonomy of rule-making at the local level (and not the government-imposed rules) is a key predictor of both better forests as well as better availability of goods and services to support livelihoods of local people. These science-based policy lessons have immediate practical utility for evidence-based forest management and restoration in India. There is an urgent need for the establishment of credible local monitoring, local rule-making and local enforcement systems in every village-level organization to facilitate local learning and adaptation. In the context of joint forest management, it is expected that village forest management and protection committees that have local rule-making, local monitoring and local enforcement are more likely to succeed in their efforts directed towards better forests and improved livelihoods. We must strive to enhance the quality of governance because such efforts result in decrease in deforestation and long-term carbon storage in forests globally. Effective local institutional arrangements to govern forests substantially influence carbon storage and livelihood contributions."
Workplace Green Space for Health and Happiness: Case of RSPCB, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
(Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board, 2013) Singhal, Vijai; Pandey, Deep Narayan; Pandey, Pushp Deep
"Stress and stress-related diseases are increasingly becoming major health challenges with an enormous cost for individuals, organizations and communities. Workplace is both a source of livelihoods and a major contributor of stress and related illnesses. Green spaces in the office environment have been found to reduce stress and enhance productivity. Even a view of greenery through the office window or a small stroll in the office garden can help uplift mood and cheerfulness. Indeed, access to natural elements in urban systems has been found to promotes physical health, relaxation, positive emotions, tranquillity, revitalization, satisfaction, cognitive fitness and psychological well-being. Thus, provisioning of green space in the workplace can contribute to health and happiness of workers. Interestingly, workplace green spaces are among the least studied types of urban green infrastructure. In our recently-assembled database of globally published research on urban green spaces comprising of 15765 papers, there are just about a few papers on workplace green space. With this understanding, we developed a small workplace green space in the campus of Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board, Jaipur. This document provides a practitioner perspective on the process and a pictorial representation of the green space today. Benefits of urban green spaces are wide-ranging including physical and psychological health, social cohesion, climate change mitigation, pollution abatement, biodiversity conservation and provisioning of the ecosystem goods and service to urban inhabitants. Workplace green space at RSPCB is an interesting example of connecting science to decision-making aimed at creating multifunctional landscapes to enhance urban resilience and human well-being. We hope, in coherence with substantial scientific evidence, that the RSPCB workplace green space provides health and happiness to both employees and visitors. People who have to stay indoors for a long time, such as office workers, are likely to benefit from green space by going outside and feeling the atmosphere for as short a period. The workplace green space provides employees the experience of serenity, wilderness, and intimate contact with nature at arm's length."