Natural resources growth and development

In the past there has been a tendency to consider economics and ecology independently in examining economic growth and develop ment. But such an approach is no longer tenable, as will be apparent from this book. To an ever-increasing extent economic activity, growth, and development determine the ecological environment of the globe, and this, in turn, places limits on the sustainability of economic activities. Thus economic change, growth, and develop ment need to be assessed in terms of ecological economics. The approach taken in this book to consider issues in economic develop ment combines economics and ecology, the approach recom mended in the World Conservation Strategy (IUCN, 1980) and by the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) established by the General Assembly of the United Nations. This, however, is not to say that author agree with all the policy recom mendations contained in the World Conservation Strategy and in Our Common Future (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). In this book author has tried to examine traditional issues in economic development within their wider environmental context, as well as to cover issues not traditionally addressed by economists.