Sustainable Development

Sustainable development has become buzzword in different form across the globe. New books and literatures on sustainable development have been appearing with increasing rapidity since the Earth summit, 1992. the field of sustainable development is conceptually divided into four general dimensions: social, economic, environmental and institutional. In this sense, cultural diversity is the fourth policy area of sustainable development. Developing countries are not only rich in biodiversity but also in cultural diversity. Thus the problem of north and south are to be perceived separately. The ongoing globalisation process has generated an over optimism around the global. It has created an atmosphere of excitement of instant economic growth. But moving very fast in the economic ladder does not mean much unless it is sustainable. All costs of pursuing economic activities are not internalised. It maximises the profits to the shareholders, while all costs are borne by all stakeholders. This book argues for sustainable development. It examines the environmental implications of the economic development process. It highlights the impact of population, industrialisation and natural disasters on environment. It analyses the environmental issues pertaining to agriculture, energy, tourism, fishery and displacement under the broader framework of sustainable development. It argues that there are many contradictions and inconsistencies. It poses a great dilemma and great challenge. Confronting the challenge is very costly but not facing the challenge is really disastrous for the whole society. One can not afford to be optimist either. Therefore the idea of sustainable development should be less idealistic and more practical. It asserts that we should give adequate priority to the role of improved environmental management, in order to achieve the millennium development Goals. The author provides a systematic treatment organising the increasingly influential new political economy as a more established field at the highly productive intersection of economics and environment. By using his insightful experience the author demonstrates that national policies are the key determinants of sustainable development process. The book focuses on powerful economic and the key determinants of sustainable development process. The book focus on powerful economic and technological forces that have transformed the world. This text will have an enormous impact on policy makers and professionals redefining how the policy maker should think about the full range of environmental issues.

About the Author :
Dr Kumar Das was the Head of the Department of Economics at Utkal University, Bhubaneswar. He obtained the doctoral fellowship in Applied Economics from Calcutta University in 1978 and earned his Ph.D. in 1984. He did his post doctoral work at the university of Bamberg (German) and obtained the D.Litt degree in 1995. He has 27 years of post graduate teaching and research experience. He has the wide experience of undertaking major research projects and guiding research scholars. Fifteen Ph.D. scholars and 40 M.Phil scholars have been awarded under his supervision. To his credit he has authored 15 books and published about 130 research papers in reputed professional journals of India and abroad. He has extensively participated, chaired and presented papers in international conferences and workshops. He is the member of Royal Economic society (London), International Association of Regional Science (USA), List Society (German) and Society of International Development (Italy), LACDE (China).