MSD-016: Strategies and Models for Sustainability

The major focus of this course is to understand the basic strategies to sustainable development and livelihood improvement. It is being discussed as infrastructure, health and sanitation, value addition and waste utilisation. The basic principles and practices involved in knowledge and technology for sustainable rural development like the principles and applications of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System, the India’s Environmental Information System Network etc. are also discussed as effective tools. The course also provides an insight into the basics of Natural Resource Management at micro level like the need for People Biodiversity Register, the Community Gene-Seed-Grain banks and linking cultural diversity with biodiversity for creating a sustainable natural resource management platform, the concept of village knowledge centre and village resource centre as approaches to sustainable natural resource management and livelihood improvement at grassroot level.The concept of eco-agriculture and its ecological foundations, the existing eco-friendly agricultural practices like one-straw revolution etc. are also discussed as pathways to sustainable agriculture and food security at individual level. The course provides an insight into existing selected sustainable development models in India as case study with an objective to facilitate the students to critically examine the leading discussions and practices of sustainable development models so as to enable them to participate effectively in decision making at various levels. Course Credit4Eligibility: Graduate in any discipline

Block 1 Strategies for Sustainable Development

Week 1: Infrastructure Development

Week 2: Health and Sanitation

Week 3: Value Addition, Recycling, Reuse and Recovery

Block 2 Knowledge System and Technology for Sustainable Rural Development

Week 4: Remote Sensing and Environmental Information Systems

Week 5: Action Plan for NRM (Micro level planning)

Week 6: Village Knowledge and Resource Centres, Biovillages Toolkit

Block 3 Evergreen Revolution

Week 7: Green to Evergreen Revolution, Pathways to EGR (cultivation)

Week 8: Sustainable on-farm and non-farm livelihoods (consumption), Equity and Market linkages (commerce)

Block 4 Models for Sustainability

Week 9: Models and Sustainable Development

Week 10: Sustainable Development in Himalaya

Week 11: Sustainable Integrated Farming System

Week 12: Cultural landscape based sustainable development model