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Climate Change & Environmental Justice

Climate Change & Environmental Justice

THEME OVERVIEW

Climate change is not experienced uniformly. Rising seas, glacial retreat, biodiversity collapse, extreme heat, and water scarcity disproportionately affect communities already structured by inequality. Exposure and vulnerability are shaped by land tenure, gender, caste, class, migration status, and institutional capacity.

This theme treats climate change as a justice question — drawing on environmental justice scholarship, political ecology, and the One Health/ecosystems framework. Across deltas, mountain regions, biodiversity hotspots, and arid landscapes, students examine how ecological change intersects with livelihoods, governance systems, public health, and adaptive capacity.

Through seminars grounded in justice theory, participatory mapping workshops, stakeholder analysis labs, site immersion, community dialogues, guest lectures from researchers and practitioners, and structured synthesis studios, students produce a Climate Justice Adaptation Proposal grounded in field evidence and institutional feasibility.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will:

  • Apply environmental justice frameworks (distribution, recognition, participation) to analyze climate vulnerability.
  • Conduct participatory mapping and stakeholder analysis using ethical field protocols.
  • Connect ecological change to livelihood systems and institutional response mechanisms.
  • Evaluate adaptation policies at local and national scales.
  • Analyze gendered, economic, and infrastructural dimensions of climate risk.
  • Produce an evidence-based climate justice adaptation proposal.
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IDEAL DISCIPLINES

Environmental Studies

Public Policy

Geography

Development Studies

Political Ecology

Public Health

Sociology

Economics

Sustainability Studies

Anthropology

POTENTIAL LOCATIONS

INDIA

India Map
Kolkata
Sundarbans
Delhi
Uttarakhand
Kochi
Western Ghats
Jaipur
Rajasthan Field Context

SAMPLE ITINERARY

Sundarbans: Delta Risk, Livelihoods & Governance
Focus
Sea-level rise, salinity intrusion, mangrove ecosystems, migration, and distributive vulnerability.
Core Inquiry
How does climate risk intersect with land tenure, migration, gender, and institutional capacity in delta regions?
Kolkata → Sundarbans

Output Possibilities:

  • Participatory delta vulnerability map
  • Livelihood resilience strategy proposal
  • Climate governance policy memo
  • Community-centered adaptation toolkit
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Himalayan Climate Risk & Adaptation
Focus
Glacial retreat, landslide exposure, water security, disaster governance, and mountain livelihoods.
Core Inquiry
How do mountain communities negotiate climate risk within fragile ecological and institutional systems?
Delhi → Uttarakhand → Delhi

Output Possibilities:

  • Water security systems map
  • Disaster governance adaptation memo
  • Institutional stakeholder analysis brief
  • Mountain resilience proposal
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Western Ghats: Biodiversity & Justice Trade-offs
Focus
Conservation regimes, forest rights, indigenous livelihoods, development pressures, and ecological governance.
Core Inquiry
How do biodiversity protection and livelihood security coexist — or conflict — in ecological hotspots?
Kochi → Western Ghats

Output Possibilities:

  • Conservation–livelihood trade-off analysis
  • Justice-centered biodiversity proposal
  • Stakeholder consultation framework
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Heat, Water & Equity
Focus
Urban heat islands, groundwater depletion, water harvesting systems, infrastructure inequality, and adaptive design.
Core Inquiry
Who bears the burden of extreme heat and water scarcity — and how can adaptation be equitable?
Jaipur + Rajasthan Field Context

Output Possibilities:

  • Heat vulnerability mapping brief
  • Water equity policy proposal
  • Urban adaptation infrastructure audit
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Mountain Justice & HKH Livelihoods (Nepal)
Focus
One Health systems, glacial retreat, tourism economies, migration, and Himalayan livelihoods.
Core Inquiry
How do ecological change, tourism, and public health intersect in Himalayan communities?
Kathmandu → Pokhara Corridor → Kathmandu

Output Possibilities:

  • One Health ecosystem map
  • Tourism-climate livelihood proposal
  • Mountain justice adaptation memo
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