Sustainable Development: Issues and Case Studies

Considering overriding importance of the issue and its societal implication, the National Association of Geographers. India (NAGI) constituted a Commission on Sustainable Development. It was decided that one of the activities of the Commission will be to highlight the various issues involved in this matter from a multi-disciplinary angle with a view to create a knowledge base. This book is an outcome of that venture. Written by experts, professionals and academicians belonging to various disciplines, both from India and abroad, this volume intends to provide insights both into the conceptual issues and application problems. Accordingly, the articles are arranged into two sections, namely, (i) Concepts and issues: and (ii) case studies. Apart from the concepts and issues, articles in the first section also deals with methodological problems citing definite examples. The articles cover a wide spectrum as the authors are from different subject fields. The issues dealt are ecological, ethical, problem of conception, problem of quantification green politics, political economy and the operational problems. The linkage between poverty and environmental degradation has also been discussed. How ecosystem approach will help in sustainable rural development has been indicated in some of the articles. Role of community management is dealt in a specific context. The case studies cover a wide spectrum across the country. Most of the studies refers to the micro level. Three case studies, one each from Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal call for looking to the tribal/rural society as repository of traditional knowledge and common goods tradition that have significance in sustainable development. Multi-disciplinary view points expressed in these articles by the contributors from the fields of geography, geology, economics, agriculture, environment, management, engineering, anthropology, population science and people’s science movement will be useful to the professionals, academicians, research scholars and the students of geography, environment, economics, planning and other allied disciplines and all those who would like to understand environment development relationship and sustainable development.