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Introduction to Ecology and Development

Rationale and Introduction

India is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, with a wide range of ecosystems, species, and genetic diversity. This ecological richness exists alongside equally diverse cultures and communities. While biodiversity and human diversity have different drivers, they have evolved together over time. Across India, people have long depended on nature for their livelihoods, cultures, and everyday lives, creating many unique socio-ecological systems.

Ecology—fundamentally a science of life—is often treated as a passive backdrop to development, rather than as a dynamic force that shapes and responds to it. Reframing this requires recognising species and ecosystems as active participants in developmental processes, with their own forms of agency. For instance, in elephant corridors, animal movement, behaviour, and decision-making actively configure landscapes, governance responses, and development outcomes. Yet dominant models of development, driven by the pursuit of endless economic growth, remain extractive and resource-intensive, failing to account for the health of ecosystems or the human and non-human lives that depend on them.

The course aims to equip participants with an analytical lens to understand India as a set of interconnected socio-ecological systems, and to explore pathways of rethinking ‘development’ that are both environmentally sustainable and socially just.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

  1. Understand some of the contemporary challenges in India today to safeguard the integrity of natural ecosystems, wildlife populations, and biodiversity
  2. Appreciate the equity and justice concerns in current sustainability discourses and practice
  3. Analyse the dominant framework of development from the perspective of economic growth, infrastructure and mega science and technology
  4. Learn about a few successful examples of ecologically sustainable and socially just development practices in India

Pedagogy

Learning will be a mix of interactive lectures, films, workshops, case studies, and group discussions.

The syllabus is organised as per the following themes:

  1. Ecology and Development interconnections: The unit will provide participants with a conceptual lens to examine India’s development pathways in light of normative principles of justice, equity, sustainability , democracy and wellbeing. The unit will explore the central premise of the course: what does (and could) ecologically grounded and socially just development look like in India?
  2. Biogeographic Diversity and Ecological Systems: Understanding India from a bioregional lens with examples from two mountain ranges– The Himalayas and The Western Ghats
  3. Unpacking Development: Interrogating the mainstream growth-oriented paradigm, this unit shifts the frame from “development” to “wellbeing” and critically examines the role of Science and Mega Technologies as one driver of development
  4. Just ecological transitions in practice: what does ecologically grounded and socially just development look like on the ground, and who gets to shape it? This unit explores two examples in India towards this endeavour- one of Mendha Lekha, Maharashtra and one of Elephant corridors governance in Karnataka.

Guest Faculty: Harini Nagendra, Azim Premji University, Ravi Chellam, Metastring Foundation and Meghna Krishnadas, NCBS
ATREE Faculty: Eapsa Berry, Pallavi Varma Patil, Sachin Tiwale, Sharachchandra Lele and Vinay Sankar

Day-wise (Tentative) Schedule

Day 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM 10:45 AM - 11:00 AM 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
1 Introduction to course, ATREE, faculty, and participants TEA / COFFEE Harini Nagendra Ecology and Development- the imperative for interconnections in a diverse country like India. LUNCH Sharad Lele Whither Equity and Justice in Sustainable Development? TEA / COFFEE Sachin Tiwale Technology and development Questioning technological myths and understanding responses to social and environmental challenges.
2 Recap of Day 1 through Participant led Discussions TEA / COFFEE Vinay Sankar and Pallavi Varma Patil Development to Good Society (A workshop with data) LUNCH Pallavi Varma Patil Case Study 1 The village well being efforts of Mendha Lekha, Maharashtra TEA / COFFEE Vinay Sankar Case study 2 Water Commons of Kerala
3 Recap of Day 2 through Participant led Discussions TEA / COFFEE Meghana Krishnadas Western Ghats- The Ecology of the Mountains LUNCH Eapsa Berry The Himalayas- Biodiversity and Plant Ecology TEA / COFFEE Ravi Chellam Wildlife corridors and ecology-development interconnections
Day 3 | 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM: Certificate distribution, and Participant Feedback

Core Readings: 

    1. Anand, M. K., et al. (2018). Whose habitat is it anyway? Role of natural and anthropogenic habitats in conservation of charismatic species. Tropical Conservation Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940082918788451
    2. Kothari, A. (2013). Development and ecological sustainability in India. Oxfam India Working Papers Series. https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/297608/dp-development-ecological-sustainability-india-010313-en.pdf
    3. Kurien, J ( 2026), Growth, Social Justice, and the Indian Reality An Old Question Revisited.
    4. Lele, S. (2020). Environment and well-being. New Left Review, (123). https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii123/articles/sharachchandra-lele-environment-and-well-being.pdf
    5. Nagendra, H. (2018). The global south is rich in sustainability lessons. Nature, 557, 485–88. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29789749/
    6. Sahyadri Environment Summit, & Kerala Paristhithi Aikyavedi. (2026). From forest to sea: Kerala people’s environmental charter—A manifesto for ecological and climate governance.
    7. Sankar, V., & Chemburkar, E. G. (2024). Accessing panchayat ponds: Patterns from central Kerala. India Water Portal. https://www.indiawaterportal.org/governance-and-policy/governance/accessing-panchayat-ponds-patterns-from-central-kerala-2
    8. Varma-Patil, P., & Sinha, S. (2020). The case of Village Mendha Lekha, India. Global University for Sustainability. https://our-global-u.org/oguorg/en/download/Conferences/ssfs7/Pallavi-Varma-Patil-and-Sujit-Sinha_The-Gandhian-Satyagraha-of-Mendha-Lekha-New-Version.pdf ls.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1940082918788451

Supplementary Readings: 

    1. Gadgil, M., & Guha, R. (1992). The fissured land: An ecological history of India. Oxford University Press. (excerpts)
    2. Govardhan EcoVillage. (n.d.). The Western Ghats. https://www.gbsanctuary.org/thewesternghats.html
    3. Kurien, J. (2025). Why superhighways risk derailing the ‘Kerala model’ of development. Scroll. https://scroll.in/article/1088176/rejoinder-superhighways-risk-derailing-the-kerala-model-of-development
Apply Now

Limited Batch size of 20 participants.

Last date to register: May 25, 2026

Course fee: 5000/- inclusive of GST.
Course fee covers lunch on all 3 days and tea/coffee plus course material 

Contact for Queries: academy.office@atree.org
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