Instructor:

L. Venkatachalam
Professor
Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS)
Chennai -600 020
E-mail: venkatmids@gmail.com
http://www.mids.ac.in/venkat.htm

Objectives of the Course

The specific objectives of this course are to
acquaint
the
students
with
various
environmental issues using an interdisciplinary
approach, and to enable the students, who are
on the threshold of becoming active
participants in society as citizens, decisionmakers and leaders, to develop a framework to
analyze the environmental issues and to find
out appropriate policy measures.

Course outline
Module A (Sessions 1 & 2)
Introduction to Environmental

Management Sustainable Development

A critique of sustainable development (SD) concept of

SD, different forms of capital, role of natural capital in

achieving SD,
Local, regional & trans-boundary water issues and how

these issues affect SD in India

Module B (Sessions 3 to 9)
Scope of market mechanism in environmental management;
Collective action & property rights for sustainable development
Scope of market mechanism in environmental

management
Complete property rights
Institutions and transaction costs (government, markets and

NGOs such as, legal system)

Collective action & property rights for sustainable

development
Various types of property regimes private, state, common & open

access
Collective action and social capital
Elinor Ostroms work on commons
Common property, local livelihoods & land acquisition

Module B (Sessions 3 to 9)
Scope of market mechanism in environmental management;
Collective action & property rights for sustainable development

Market failures and environmental problems, and

internalization of environmental externalities

Reasons for market failures

Public goods, externalities

Correcting market failures

Command and control

Market-based instruments
Climate change: Kyoto Protocol
Role of judiciary

A case study of coffee sector in the context of relationship between

international trade & environment

Module C (Sessions 10 to 16)

Environmental issues and policy measures
Session 10: Case study on local

environmental governance
Institutions, Property Rights, Policy failures, Sustainable

Development vs. Equity, Social Capital, Challenges in

implementing grass roots interventions

Sessions 1116: Presentation & discussion

of term papers and book reviews

Evaluation
Class Participation 10%
Mid-term 20%
Final Examination 40%

Answer No more than the suggested page limit in the question

paper

Term Paper 30%

Term paper presentation

A group of five/ six students
Analyze local / regional / national /

international environmental issues

(remedial policies/interventions) &
opportunities (i.e., new business
opportunities)
Evaluation on the basis of application of

theoretical concepts/ analytical frameworks

discussed in Session 1 to Session 10.

Evaluation of term paper

Presentation and discussion
35 minutes for each group

15 to 20 minutes for presentation

15 minutes for discussion

Presentation by ALL the students in a group,

and participation by ALL the students in the

class
(Post mid-term, March 9th onwards)

Evaluation of term paper

Presentation 15 marks
Individual effort 10 marks
Overall group presentation 5 marks

Report 15 marks
ORIGINAL PIECE OF WORK

Write the source of literature referred to as

footnotes/endnotes
Report size Maximum 2,500 words
Structure the report into sections

References

Kumar, I., Guri, S., Ladia, M., Richa, & Verma, A. (2013) (PGP16 Students) Live project on coastal
management of Kozhikode. The Winner of WIPRO Earthian Award 2013. (Note based on
Environmental Management Term Paper).
Sahasranamam, S., Dasgupta, S., Asati, A., Singh, R., & Debnath, A. (PGP16 Students) (2013)
Powering villages with renewable energy co-ops. Business Line November 25, 2013. (An article
based on Term Paper) (PPTs of presentation available in the Black Board)
PPTs of two groups from PGP16