Impact of Research on Policy
Through the output of several of his research and consultancy assignments and publications, in the form of journal articles, books, reports, monographs, etc., Prof. Sharma has contributed to policy making in India and abroad. Some of them are mentioned below briefly.
- Education for Sustainability :
- Sustainable Biomass Utilization for Energy Production in East Asia :
- State of Environment Report - Maharashtra :
- Assessment of Sustainability through Life Cycle Approach :
- Maharashtra State Development Report :
- Environmental and Natural Resource Accounting :
- Trade and Environment Linkages :
- Assessment of Sustainability through Life Cycle Approach :
- Waste Paper Trade and Recycling :
- Climate Change Impacts :
- Air Pollution and its Impacts :
Prof. Sharma has worked as an expert to provide input from India in this multi-country project. This project was promoted by Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore for assessing and enhancing the role of education in Sustainable Development. The project focuses on Education for Sustainability (EfS) in Asian Countries and studies the penetration of EfS at all levels, i.e., primary, secondary and higher education. Awareness and Education are among the key factors in changing the attitude of people towards environment, which may result in their activities for resource conservation and environmental protection. The policy recommendation from various forms of output and publications of the project (workshops, reports, news letters, books) may help in promoting EfS in Asia and increasing awareness among masses.
Prof. Sharma has worked as Indian team leader and as an international expert to provide my input in this multi-country project.This project was sponsored by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). The project investigated various aspects of "Sustainable Biomass Utilization in East Asia." An elaborate research was conducted by a multi-disciplinary, multi-national expert working group (WG) formed by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). The WG experts were specialized in various disciplines such as energy, environment, social-sciences and economics, within the East Asian region. The WG highlighted various crucial issues and suggested some necessary steps, which could be useful for achieving sustainable biomass utilization in the production and consumption of bioenergy in the region. The policy recommendations of the report prepared by the WG were accepted by the Energy Ministers' of the East Asian countries including India.
This project was sponsored by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board in Collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India. Under my supervision, the report was co-ordinated and prepared by the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai, India and other collaborating partners were IIT Bombay, NEERI, Universities and Municipal Corporations of Maharashtra. The objective of this Report was to assess the state of the art of natural resources and environment in the state of Maharashtra. The report covered all major environmental sectors, including local and global issues, and suggested the policy measures for various sub-sectors of environment. The report could be useful for the decision and policy makers and other stakeholders responsible for environmental management who could frame policies in such as way that the state of Maharashtra can achieve an eco-friendly development.
This research is aimed at the assessment of sustainability of products, processes and services throughout their life span. An international (biggest) conference on LCA was organized in India at IGIDR, which is still continue through sessions on life cycle thinking and approaches in a biennial event series, ISSF. Through establishment of Indian network of LCA stakeholders (ISLCA) and representation in several forums on LCA around the world including international advisory committee member of a biennial event EcoBalance organized by the SNTT and AIST, Japan, this elaborate research has resulted in substantial increase in awareness and action on the LCA concepts and application in India.
This project was sponsored by the Planning Commission, Govt. of India. Under my supervision, the report was co-ordinated and prepared by the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai, India. Other collaborating partners were Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE), Pune, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. The objective of Maharashtra State Development Report was not merely to state policies and achievements of the Government, but rather a concerted effort to provide a document with guidelines for accelerated, improved and sustainable development in the state. It recognises that development is an all-encompassing process, which requires the State Government, the Civil Society, the Panchayati Raj Institutions and all stakeholders to work in tandem. Thus, the report could act as the ready reference material to review the reasons for success and failures on various fronts and as a useful tool for the policy makers to decide the strategy for future development in the state. The report was released in a high profile function organized by the Chief Minister's office by Shri M.S.Ahluwalia, Dy. Chairman of the Planning Commission in November, 2005. It was well received by print and TV media and covered by all major national newspapers and TV channel.
These projects were sponsored by the UNDP and the UN-ESCAP through the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India. These aimed at internalizing the environmental costs into the development process. They have made significant impact on Government Policy, and as a result, several research projects across the country were initiated on various resources suggested through these projects. Some resource specific studies gave useful input to formulation of policies related to the monetary estimation of damages to these resources caused by pollution and other anthropogenic activities.
This project was sponsored by the UNCTAD and made a significant impact on international policies related to the Environment and Trade. The project added to the ongoing debate on trade and environment issues in the international and Indian forums. The study suggested guidelines to frame policies which could minimize the damages to local ecology and environment due to trade related activities and, at the same time, the trade is not restricted due to international environmental barriers.
This research is aimed at the assessment of sustainability of products, processes and services throughout their life span. An international (biggest) conference on LCA was organized in India at IGIDR, which is still continue through sessions on life cycle thinking and approaches in a biennial event series, ISSF. Through establishment of Indian network of LCA stakeholders (ISLCA) and representation in several forums on LCA around the world including international advisory committee member of a biennial event EcoBalance organized by the SNTT and AIST, Japan, this elaborate research has resulted in substantial increase in awareness and action on the LCA concepts and application in India.
This research was jointly conducted by the Institute for Environmental Studies, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai and INTERVENTION India Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore. I was project leader and principal researcher from IGIDR and lead several researchers from IGDIR and other Institutions in India. This project came out with some important findings related to trade and recycling of waste paper at international, national and local levels. The study suggested various policy measures on trade, environment and socio-economic aspects of waste paper recycling which could be adopted to improve the solid waste management and recycling infrastructure in India.
This research was a joint project of National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Environment Agency of Japan and Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai. I was the project leader for this project in the area of international and regional importance. The objective of the research was to find out the impact of climate change on agriculture, water resources and socio-economic sectors in India. Since the Climate Change Impacts form a bridge between green house gas emissions and policy for their abatement, the results of this research would be of immense help for policy makers.
This is one of the areas on which I have made the largest contribution. Both indoor and ambient air pollution problems have been studied for rural and urban regions. Two most polluted cities in the India (Delhi and Mumbai) have been the focus of the studies. My book on Atmospheric Pollution by Aerosols focused on air pollution in Mumbai. I worked as an expert member in Metropolitan Environment Improvement Programme which was supported by the World Bank, USA and executed by the Environment Dept., Government of Maharashtra. The study focused on several aspects of air pollution in Bombay. The study suggested various measures which could be followed to abate air pollution in metropolitan and urban regions of India. Introduction of Catalytic Converters in the vehicles and use of unleaded petrol and PUC were some of the recommendations of this study which have been introduced in India since 1995. I also worked as Team Leader of 'Integrated Assessment of Air Quality in Delhi' Sponsored by Tata Motors Limited, A Leading Company from the House of Tatas, India, during 2005 and 2007.
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