| Greening India's Growth: Costs, Valuations and Trade-offs Subjects: Environment & Agriculture; Area Studies; Global Development; Economics Finance Business & Industry; Environment and Sustainability; Geography; Economics and Development; Sustainable Development; Conservation - Environment Studies; Environmental Policy; Environmental Change & Pollution; Environmental Management; Environment & Business; Environment & Resources; Environment & Economics; Agriculture & Environmental Sciences; Asian Studies; Economics; Human Geography; Environmental Sciences; South Asian Studies; Development Economics; Environmental Economics; Economic Geography; Environmental Geography; Development Geography; India's sustained and rapid economic growth offers an opportunity to lift millions out of poverty. But thisnbsp;may come at a steep cost to its environment and natural resources. This insightfulnbsp;booknbsp;analyses India's growth from an economic perspective and assesses whether India can grow in a "green" and sustainable manner. Three key issues are addressed.nbsp; The firstnbsp;is the physical and monetary costs and losses of environmental health and natural resources driven by economic growth.nbsp;The authorsnbsp;undertake a monetary valuation and quantification of environmental damage, using techniques that have been developed to better understand and quantify preferences and values of individuals and communities in the context of environmental quality, conservation of natural resources, and environmental health risks. The second part estimates the value of ecosystem services from the major biomes in India using state-of-the art methods with a view to preserving them for the future. The third section provides a menu of policy instruments to explore trade-offs between economic growth and environmental sustainability using a Computable General Equilibrium approach with particular attention to air pollution.nbsp; The conclusions focus on the way forward in terms of policies, measures and instruments as India has to balance the twin challenges of maintaining economic prosperity while managing its environmental resources. Muthukumara Mani is Senior Environmental Economist, Disaster Risk and Climate Change Unit, South Asia Sustainable Development Department, World Bank, Washington DC, USA. |