SI on Indian Perspectives on Environmental Justice

Call for Abstracts of Contributions to a Special Issue of Journal Academics Stand Against Poverty and an edited volume on Indian Perspectives on Environmental Justice

Indian Perspectives on Environmental Justice

Dr. Gaurika Chugh, Assistant Professor, TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi, India, email:

gaurika.chugh@terisas.ac.in

Environmental justice has been a critical issue in India especially for the marginalized and vulnerable sections of the society. In contemporary times, environmental degradation has been intensified with extreme challenges especially with the rise in climate change, an unprecedented rise in the intensity of disasters and urban cities facing the challenges of air pollution, solid waste management and energy transition. In such a context and to achieve the objectives of Paris Climate Treaty and Sustainable Development Goals 2015-30, it is imperative for the policy makers and researchers to present evidence-based and actionable policy research that addresses the critical environmental challenges and present sustainable policy solutions.

Authors are invited to submit an abstract of 150-200 words. Abstract shall clearly define the problem being explored, state the study objectives, identify the methodology employed and mention the expected findings. A team of experts from Yale University and TERI SAS will be evaluating the abstracts and papers. Authors must follow Journal ASAP instructions, especially its guidelines for submissions along with the style guide.

Submit abstracts through this link: https://forms.office.com/r/gsibK65pBX

Last Date to submit the abstract: 30th April 2025

Selected abstracts will be intimated by 15th May 2025

Deadline for submission of full papers: 31st July 2025

Publication by December 2025

The discourse on environmental justice in India has been shaped by both global environmental justice movements and indigenous concerns about environmental challenges (Sidique et al., 2024). The global environmental justice movements that gained momentum in the 1980s, advocating for a just and equitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens, significantly influenced India. However, independent of these global movements, India has a long-standing history of indigenous environmental struggles deeply rooted in colonial exploitation and resource mismanagement. These movements, such as the Chipko Movement and Narmada Bachao Andolan, have played a crucial role in shaping the country's environmental justice discourse, highlighting the intersection of environmental sustainability, human rights, and social equity.

Environmental Justice has been a persisting issue in India and in recent times especially with the coming of COVID-19 pandemic, the issue has gained significant attention amongst the policy makers. While the problem of environmental justice affects everyone in the society equally, its impact is much more especially on the marginalized and vulnerable sections of the society (Kashwan 2025). There has been a rapid depletion of the natural resources to meet the basic needs of sustenance and this has led to an unprecedented depletion of wildlife, land degradation, soil erosion and air pollution and contamination of water.

In contemporary times, the impact of environmental degradation has been accelerated with multiple issues involving air pollution, land degradation, solid waste management and rise in the intensity of disasters. While air pollution is seen more of an urban problem in India, its impact is even severe in the nonurban areas (Ravishankara et.al 2020). Rural regions experience significant air quality deterioration due to biomass burning, agricultural waste incineration, and the infiltration of pollutants from urban and industrial centers (Sharma & Dikshit, 2016). Moreover, the limited availability of air quality monitoring in these areas exacerbates the challenge, making it difficult to assess and mitigate the health risks associated with pollution exposure (Ghosh, 2018). Addressing these environmental challenges requires urgent policy interventions that prioritize equitable resource distribution, sustainable development, and the protection of vulnerable communities.

The special issue is an outcome of the International workshop on Environmental Justice, organized by TERI School of Advanced Studies and Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP) and Global Justice Program Yale University. The workshop provided an in-depth discussion on the intersection of environmental and social justice, particularly in India and Global South. A central focus was the need for an Environmental Impact Fund to help mitigate climate change effects on vulnerable communities.

Dr. Gaurika Chugh

Guest Editor

Dr. Gaurika Chugh is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Policy and Management Studies, TERI School of Advanced Studies, India. She completed her Ph.D. doctorate on “Land Records and Land Management: A study in PESA districts of Gujarat and Rajasthan” from the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her research focuses on the aspects of digitization in land administration to improve governance and policy reforms. She has worked in prestigious institutions, universities and research organizations. She has been involved in preparing international reports and consultancy projects with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) for preparing a regional and a comparative analysis report on “Legal Preparedness for Regional/International Disaster and Pandemic Response in South Asia”. With RMIT University, Melbourne she undertook an impact study on land tenure security in the slums of Odisha.

She has published papers pertaining to her research interests in international and national journals. She actively writes columns on public policy and governance issues in major daily newspapers and magazines.

If you have any question please contact dr Gaurika Chugh: gaurika.chugh@terisas.ac.in

Ghosh, S. (2018). Air pollution in rural India: A silent killer. Current Science, 115(10), 1922–1923. https://doi.org/10.18520/cs/v115/i10/1922-1923

Kashwan, P. (Ed.). (2025). Climate justice in India: Volume 1. Cambridge University Press.

Ravishankara, A. R., David, L. M., Pierce, J. R., & Venkataraman, C. (2020). Outdoor air pollution in India is not only an urban problem. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(46), 28640–28644. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2007236117

Ravishankara, A. R., David, L. M., Pierce, J. R., & Venkataraman, C. (2020). Outdoor air pollution in India is not only an urban problem. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(46), 28640–28644. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2007236117

Sharma, M., & Dikshit, O. (2016). Comprehensive study on air pollution and its health effects in India. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23(11), 10376–10389. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6458-0

Sidique, U., & Zaidi, K. (2024). Rising to the challenge: A systematic review of the development of environmental justice in India. India Review, 23(4), 325–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/14736489.2024.2382595