Operationalising Sustainable Development: Economic-Ecological Modelling for Developing Countries

The concept of sustainable development has long been a focus of debate in the social and natural sciences. The debate currently rages principally between environmentalists who plead for resource sustainability, and economists who favour sustainable incomes and consumption levels. According to the authors of this cogent volume, equitable and sustainable development is possible only if ecological constraints are internalised in the technological and institutional framework. Economic-ecological modelling, such as that undertaken here, endeavours to come to terms systematically with the complexity of interactions at the interface between society and the environment. With an emphasis on ecology, the authors develop a model for operationalising sustainable development in the context of Palamau district in Bihar, one of the most underdeveloped regions in India. Perhaps the first of its kind anywhere in the world and certainly in India, the detailed modelling approach adopted in this book comprises a significant methodological advance in giving shape to the notion of sustainable development. Bringing together ecological and economic data from a wide variety of sources, this valuable contribution will be of interest to those engaged in environmental economics, ecology and environmental studies, development economics and resource management as well as to planning and financial agencies, policy analysts and NGOs.