Scope and Importance of Environmental Studies
The multidisciplinary approach of the subject can be implemented in wide range of applications and fields related to the environmental awareness, education and conservation. Hence, the subject has a vast scope and the expert of the subject can serve in numerous ways in different spheres of the society. Students may opt the subject and make a professional career in Environmental Studies or Environmental Science. The experts and professionals of the subject are required and recruited in various sectors like:
Academics: as discussed above, the subject has been introduced in numerous schools, colleges and universities in India and abroad, at school, under-graduation and post- graduation levels. The student may pursue the subject. Worldwide, large number of dedicated departments, centers, universities and institutions have been established for the subject. An interested professional may join the teaching and academics and make the next generation aware about the environmental issues and its tangible solutions. Many dedicated institutes, like WII Dehradun, FRI Dehradun, IIFM Bhopal etc., have been established to propagate education in specialized fields of the environment.
Research & Development: research and post-doctoral works have been going on worldwide to understand the environmental mechanisms and to get cost-effective cutting-edge technologies to mitigate environmental issues and challenges.
Industries: in order to effectively implement the environmental guidelines and technologies and to mitigate the environmental degradation directly or indirectly caused by the industries, a large number of industries have been recruiting environmental engineers/scientists/experts.
Ministries and Agencies: ministry of environment and various environmental agencies & conventions of national and international repute frequently create vacancies for the environmental experts. Few of the examples of such agencies are UNEP, IPCC, CITES, RAMSAR, USEPA etc.
Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Consultancy: a large number of national and international NGOs and consultancies are working as an extended hand to conserve the environment and its various components. Most of the NGOs and consultancies are old and have an experienced workforce. Some of the examples are Bombay Natural History Society, IUCN, Conservation International, World Wide Fund for Nature, Wildlife Trust of India, Centre for Environmental Education, Centre for Science and Environment, Kalpavriksha, Madras Crocodile Bank Trust etc.
Green Journalism: environmental awareness is indispensable for the environmental conservation and media (print, electronic and social media) is the strongest medium to propagate the awareness. Green journalism is the term given when media raises the environmental issues and its practical solutions suggested by the experts of the subject.
Environmental legislation and Green Advocacy: for an effective environmental conservation, it is indispensable to have stringent legislative provision and effective implementation of the same. Legal experts specialized in environmental law may act significantly in environmental conservation.
In the last five decades, Environmental Studies or Environmental Science has emerged as an important multidisciplinary subject dealing with all the aspects of issues and challenges of the environment and it also suggests practical solutions to the environmental problems. The subject is still evolving as the environmental problems are also growing in intensity and magnitude at a fast pace. Anthropogenic activities have created the issues like pollution caused by conventional and emerging pollutants, biodiversity loss, global warming-climate change, growing global energy demands, utmost pressure on the natural resources etc., which are causing serious threats to the life on the planet. Environmental Studies has given tangible solutions to the environmental problems. Some of the prominent fields, which the subject addresses may be summarized as Environmental Education and Ethics, Ecosystem and ecology, Natural Resources Management, Energy Efficiency and Audit, Renewable sources of energy, Global warming-climate change, Biodiversity Conservation, Pollution monitoring and mitigation, Population and Environment, Waste management etc.