Programme on Law and the Environment

Our approach to conducting research on environmental law recognises the need to merge the social sciences with law. Thereby, through our research, we create an opportunity not only to describe problems contained in law and systems of justice, but also to critically examine the historical-political origin and influence of law in society, its modes of operation and impact on civil society.

The beginning of liberalisation of the Indian economy also marks a period of greater activity on environmental laws among the government, civil society groups, lawyers, academics, local communities and their representatives. Several new and significant laws (including notifications and government orders) were promulgated since, and modifications have been made to older ones. These changes present varying situations whose impacts on sections of society are neither homogeneous nor consistent. 

The research conduced by members of Dakshin and our collaborators examine the operation of central and state legislations, their implementation status and their interface with different sections of society. Our socio-legal research requires us to work with a range of civil society groups, lawyers, academics government officials and community representatives. At present, we seek to contribute to further analyses of laws pertaining to the environment and to the critical examination of concepts of law and its operation in society. We also communicate our research efforts through the Environmental Law Omnibus where and we ensure free and easy access to data that we collect on environmental laws in the form of government orders, notifications and relevant publications.

Projects
Analysis of laws related to coastal management
Assessing legislative frameworks for conservation