About the Department
Department of Environmental Science
Environmental Sciences represents an interdisciplinary school of international repute with the objective to inculcate reasoning, innovation, critical analysis, and problem-solving approach to achieve a sustainable environment on earth. In compliance with the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, UGC, New Delhi under its ‘Emerging Areas Programme’ established the Department of Environmental Sciences in May 1994 for quality teaching, research and extension in field of Environmental Sciences. The Department is running M.Sc. and Ph.D. programmes in Environmental Sciences since its inception. In addition to it, the Department of Environmental Sciences has also been running Advance P.G. Diploma in Environmental Economics and 'P.G Diploma in Environmental Management' (2-semester programme) sponsored by UGC, New Delhi under its Innovative Programme since 2007. Along with this, the department also conducts the compulsory course AECC Environmental Science (Understanding and Engaging Value-Added Course Environment under the New Education Policy 2020) prescribed by the UGC at the graduate level.The department is conducting continuous assessments, seminars, workshop, conferences, group discussions, tutorials, and computer-assisted teaching as regular features.
The department has its own in-house library for the student’s facility, which has various books and journals of national and international repute. The department has two laboratories for conducting experiments on Limnology and Environmental Microbiology for M.Sc. and Ph.D. students, in which Physco-Chemical, Heavy Metal and Bacterial Diversity analysis and other water quality parameters, Air quality monitoring, and different meteorological parameters analyses are important.
Till date, 34 scholars of the department have been awarded D.Phil./Ph.D. degree.As a highly job oriented programme, more than 95% students of Environmental Sciences have got placed in various capacities at different national and international organizations. The Department has made a National distinction of producing 23 UGC-NET qualified students. The department is actively involved in stockholders demand driven research, experimentation and outreach activities.
So far, the department organized 05 National and 03 International Seminar/Symposia/Conference/Workshop in collaboration with NIDM, Govt. of India, ICIMOD Nepal, IGES Japan, etc.
The department has strong research base and the faculty members have been actively engaged in the diverse field of research in the area of environment and sustainable development with particular focus to Indian Himalayan region. The major thrust areas of the research of the department are Water Quality Analysis, Air pollution, High altitude Wetland ecosystem conservation and management, Human-wildlife conflict, Conservation and protection of sacred bio-cultural landscape and protected areas (PAs), Biodiversity and ecosystem restoration, Climate Change Impact, Adaptation and Mitigation,ecosystem services and valuation and Traditional/Indigenous Knowledge system.
The department has more than 750 publications including 15 books and research papers, book chapters etc. (525 research papers in peer reviewed international and national journals of repute). Based on the outstanding scientific contribution of the faculties, they received many national and international awards and recognitions and also served as members and experts in various international and national scientific and academic committees/bodies.The faculty working in the department have made significant contributions in the diverse fields which include socio-ecological and natural resource management, biodiversity conservation through participatory and action research approaches and policy- people conflict resolution in the protected areas of Himalaya, rural and agro-ecosystem structure and function, bioresource based livelihood enhancement and income generation.
The department has four ongoing research projects sponsored by national and international funding agencies.
- Opportunities of livelihood to check migration from the hills) under Indian Himalayan Central University Consortium (IHCUC) sponsored by MoE-UGC-NITI-Aayog,
2. Multiplication, Cultivation, Standardization of Post-Harvest Processing and Product Development of High-Altitude Aromatic Plants of Western and Eastern Himalaya” sponsored by DBT, Govt. of India, under Himalayan Bioresource mission program (HBMP).
3. Development of Adaptation Communication Framework Mainstreaming Indigenous and Local Knowledge for Hindu-Kush Himalayan Region, sponsored by APN-IGES, Japan.
4. Social and Environmental Audit of 10 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) sponsored by NamamiGange–SPMG.
The department is deeply involved in action-oriented research on bioresource conservation, utilization and product development in rural landscape of the higher Himalayan region of Uttarakhand. Recently a small afforestation programme involving students was under taken in the department premise following ecological restoration approaches in which more than 70 plants of Cinnamomum tamala(Tejpatta), Syzygiumcumini(Jamun), Phyllanthus emblica(Amla), Citrus limon (Nimbu), etc. were planted.