With increasing rates of economic growth, it becomes imperative to examine, analyse and document likely impacts on the state of health of natural resources and the environment. At the international level, such debate in the eighties led to the emergence of the notion of sustainable development. However, the question that has exercised the minds of a large number of persons at different points of time is: What does sustainable development mean for a low income, densely populated country eager to get on with growth and development? Is it just another word coined by developed countries and relevant only to them while we continue to follow whatever development path we determine for ourselves consigning such issues to a distant future? Or is it that the concept can reflect aspects of a new paradigm of development? Perhaps as late-comers to development, we can and should think of opportunities that we have of avoiding mistakes committed by industrial nations in the course of the last two hundred years and using our natural and environmental resources more prudently ?

This book, which brings together the proceedings, lead papers and abstracts of contributed papers presented at the First Biennial Conference of the Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE) gives a developing country perspective to the issues referred to above. It is sure to be of interest to scientists, policy makers and thinking persons in different walks of life as they deliberate on issues at the interface of environment and development.