The 2024 CECFEE - EfD India workshop emerged as a pivotal platform for bridging academic research and practical policy solutions in environmental economics. The workshop illuminated the complex interconnections between environmental challenges, socioeconomic behaviors, and innovative interventions by bringing together diverse researchers and policymakers.
Through a rich tapestry of presentations spanning environmental pollution, climate change, biodiversity, and their multifaceted impacts, participants engaged in a transformative dialogue about translating academic insights into tangible real-world solutions.
The 3-day workshop was kicked off by a presentation by EfD Director, Gunnar Köhlin to familiarise the participants with the cutting-edge work of EfD in promoting sustainable development through research and policy collaboration. The young researchers were keen to hear about the origin as well as the future strategies of EfD to mobilize global resources towards making greater impacts.
External support can catalyze local action
Representatives of the SRIJAN Foundation addressed water scarcity in Bundelkhand through the Water, Agriculture, and Livelihoods Initiative. By reviving traditional water management systems and rehabilitating water bodies, they strategically targeted areas with the most acute water shortages. Community-driven efforts included desilting tanks, with farmers using excavated silt to enhance farm fertility. What began as a corporate-supported project by Hindustan Unilever evolved into a community-owned movement, with residents now financing 70% of the initiatives.
The participants of the workshop also had the opportunity to visit these intervention areas as part of a field trip organized by CECFEE in collaboration with SRIJAN. It was a truly inspiring experience, capable of inculcating new research questions in the minds of the researchers, showcasing how external support can catalyze sustainable local action.
This was followed by presentations by researchers actively working on such issues. The major topics discussed were:
Industrial and agricultural pollution and its impacts
The participants saw some scintillating results on the effects of industrial discharge on agricultural production through water pollution in research presented by Anshuman Tiwari (EPIC, UChicago). Their study focused on 48 government-identified ‘critically polluted’ sites and used hydrological modeling and spatial regression discontinuity designs to conclude that industrial water pollution significantly increases downstream river contamination but has smaller effects on groundwater pollution and crop yields.
Digvijay Negi (Ashoka University) highlighted how state trade mediation through Minimum Support Price (MSP) inadvertently incentivizes harmful agricultural practices. Rice farmers, facing low profitability, often resort to crop residue burning as a cost-effective method of field preparation for wheat sowing. A difference-in-differences study revealed that districts with government rice and wheat procurement experienced a 43% increase in agricultural fires and a 6% rise in PM2.5 levels after 2006, primarily due to crop residue burning during field preparation.
Addressing this problem of crop residue burning, Eshita Gupta’s (KPMG) research examines farmers’ preferences for no-burn crop residue management (CRM) practices in Punjab. Using data from over 2,500 farmers, the study finds strong support for “Incorporation & Mulching” via Smart Seeders and a preference for structured service providers like custom hiring centers. Awareness levels significantly influence adoption, while wealthier farmers are less likely to shift from traditional practices. The findings emphasize the need for better access to technology, advisory services, and awareness programs to encourage sustainable CRM practices and reduce the environmental damage caused by crop residue burning.
Raavi Aggarwal's (CECFEE, ISI, Delhi) presentation underscored critical challenges in managing industrial and agricultural pollution, offering actionable insights for sustainable development. Her research highlighted how industrial discharges primarily affected river water quality, while MSP policies unintentionally encouraged practices like crop residue burning, worsening air pollution. She discussed innovative strategies, including emission trading schemes and labor-energy substitution, as promising pathways for decarbonizing the manufacturing sector. Additionally, she emphasized the vulnerability of agricultural livelihoods to rising temperatures, underscoring the urgent need for adaptive measures.
Continuing with the multifaceted impacts of pollution, Kritika Chauhan (CECFEE, ISI) used a Principal Component Analysis method to create a composite Pollution Index. Her study identified highly polluted districts, such as Nagpur and Chandrapur, as hotspots of industrial and vehicular emissions, while regions like Osmanabad, Sangli and Solapur were less affected. By combining air pollution metrics with proxies for urbanization and green cover, the research highlighted the urgent need for region-specific policy interventions. Such findings underscore the broader goal of translating research into actionable strategies that address localized environmental challenges while supporting sustainable development.
Climate change and resource management
Shoibal Chakravarty (Divecha Centre for Climate Change, IISc) presented research on India’s Emissions Trading Scheme (CCTS), a rate-based system encouraging emission reductions in the power sector via tradable carbon credits. The study showed that tighter efficiency standards initially improve coal plant operations but later accelerate a shift to renewables and gas. By exploring innovative approaches like blending renewables with coal power to ease the energy transition, Chakravarty highlighted the potential of market-based solutions to align carbon policies with sustainable energy goals.
On another facet of resource management, Sabyasachi Das (Ahmedabad University) highlighted the problem of spatial misallocation of surface irrigation. He and his co-author's study looks at the effect of decentralization to locally elected irrigation management bodies, ‘Pani Panchayats’ in Orissa on irrigation efficiency. It is seen that farmers located farther away from the canal receive less water, ultimately generating lower revenue under the centralized system. But this correlation is weakened by longer exposure to Pani Panchayats, along with the accumulation of more land by distant farmers.
Looking at the impacts of road connectivity on the labor market and economic resilience in India in the face of rising temperatures, Aparajita Dasgupta (Ashoka University) showed that new roads enable farm workers to shift to non-farm sectors like services, boosting employment and household wealth. The findings highlight the critical role of last-mile connectivity in fostering economic resilience and suggest that infrastructure development can be a vital tool for integrating climate adaptation into rural development policies.
Agricultural and rural livelihoods
Amlan Dasgupta (O.P. Jindal University) highlighted the vulnerability of small-holder dairy farmers, who own 67% of India’s livestock and produce about 80% of its milk, to rising temperatures. His study finds that a uniform 1°C rise in temperature could reduce cattle and buffalo yields by 30% and 18%, respectively, translating to substantial income losses of ₹740–₹900 per household. This underscores a serious policy crisis, particularly for farmers in regions most affected by climate change.
In a study of Makueni County's semi-arid region, Virginiah Njoki Wango (Nairobi University) provided interesting insights about how farmers engage with seasonal weather forecasts as a climate adaptation strategy. Her research revealed that agricultural extension services and radio access significantly improve forecast adoption. Gender emerged as a critical factor influencing farmers' attitudes and practices, highlighting the need for gender-sensitive policies and targeted advisory services to bolster climate resilience in vulnerable agricultural communities.
Innovation and development interventions
Tanu Gupta's (CECFEE, ISI Delhi) research in rural Bangladesh revealed how household electrification transforms gender dynamics. Electricity reduced women's unpaid domestic labor, enabling them to increase participation in agricultural work as men transitioned to non-farm employment. The study highlighted electrification's potential to enhance women's decision-making power and leisure time while introducing labor-saving technologies like electric irrigation pumps. Despite these gains, persistent social norms continued to constrain women's mobility and non-farm economic opportunities, underscoring the nuanced impact of infrastructure development on gender equality.
Praveen Kumar (ISI, Delhi) presented his research which explored increased mortality due to exposure to household air pollution via noncommunicable diseases. He and his co-authors looked at the impact of adopting induction cookstoves as a clean cooking solution in Anganwadis. They showed a 10–17% reduction in LPG consumption but minimal impact on cooking time. Adoption reached 61% within a year, with barriers like inadequate wiring and electricity costs. Benefits included cost savings, safety, and convenience, highlighting their potential to reduce household air pollution.
Benston John (St. Stephens College, Delhi) presented a highly thought-provoking paper analyzing low-cost solutions to reduce ambient temperatures in public buildings, particularly cool-roofs, which involves painting suitable roofs with white reflective paint. To study the impact of this measure, the authors focused on cool-roof interventions in Anganwadis of Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district. By applying white reflective paint with a high Solar Reflective Index, the study demonstrated significant reductions in indoor temperatures, improved thermal comfort for childcare staff, and enhanced cognitive performance among children. These findings not only highlight the potential of low-cost, scalable cooling solutions in mitigating the effects of rising temperatures but also emphasize their broader implications for health, productivity, and learning outcomes.
Bishal Bharadwaj (Curtin University) pointed out the growing calamities arising due to skyrocketing plastic consumption, focusing particularly on single-use plastic bags. He investigates the effectiveness of Nepal's plastic bag ban through monitoring strategies informed by data from 36,000 road users across 24 municipalities. Highlighting the global challenge of mismanaged plastic, the study uses multinomial logistic regression and machine learning simulations to analyze variations in bag use by time, location, and demographics. Findings emphasize that consistent and targeted monitoring increases compliance, with evidence suggesting strategic enforcement based on observed behavior can reduce plastic bag usage.
Socioeconomic impacts and behavior
Urmi Paranjpye (Ashoka University) presented her study on the complex dynamics of migration patterns. She analyses the effects of migration and remittances on household consumption patterns in India, using data from IHDS. Her findings reveal that migrant-sending households allocate more to health, utilities, and miscellaneous goods, though the impact on education spending is mixed. After controlling for selection bias using propensity score matching, she concluded that remittances positively influence household economic development by enabling greater consumption.
Access to safe drinking water is a basic necessity that is often of utmost importance to government and policymakers. Narbadeshwar Mishra (O.P. Jindal University) underscores the gravity of this by studying the impact of safe drinking water on school children’s education and learning outcomes. To study this, they use the findings of the National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP) on the educational outcomes of rural children aged 8-11. Their study revealed that improved access to safe drinking water through piped indoor supply significantly increased school enrolment, boosted child-specific educational expenditure, and enhanced reading skills, with no notable impact on math skills. The program benefitted girls more than boys, primarily by reducing water-fetching time, school absenteeism, diarrhea incidence, and short-term morbidity expenses while increasing time spent on homework and private tuition.
Biodiversity and conservation
On an interesting take, Agnij Sur (ISI, Delhi) examined the impact of Nepal's Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) on bird species diversity, highlighting the potential of decentralized resource management for biodiversity conservation. Using eBird data, his analysis showed that CFUG-managed forests significantly enhanced bird species richness across habitats and conservation statuses. Employing robust methodologies to address biases and spatial spillovers, the study underscored the effectiveness of CFUGs while noting challenges like elite capture and human-wildlife conflict, calling for equitable management practices.
Challenges and success stories
The workshop culminated in a candid panel discussion that laid bare both the opportunities and challenges of cross-sector collaboration. District Magistrate Riju Bafna shared a successful water conservation initiative while noting that such collaborations often arise more by chance than design. DSE’s Rohini Somanathan highlighted how academic incentive structures can discourage young faculty from engaging in practical but potentially unpublishable work.
Conservation biologist Raghu Chundawat spoke to the challenge of elevating scientific evidence over personal views in policy decisions, while SRIJAN’s Prasanna Khemariya emphasized the untapped potential for collaboration between NGOs’ ground experience and academics’ analytical expertise.
The path forward: From analysis to action
EfD's Director Gunnar Köhlin urged academics to examine the structural barriers to meaningful collaboration with practitioners. He stated that the future of environmental progress lies not just in generating knowledge or implementing programs but in finding systematic ways to bridge these efforts.
The workshop demonstrated that environmental challenges require a collaborative approach—one that weaves together careful analysis and practical action, academic insights and community needs, policy design, and successful implementation.
The question now is not whether to combine research and practice but how to do so more effectively and systematically. The CECFEE - EfD India workshop showed that when we succeed in bridging this divide, the results can be transformative.