Environmental economics

Environmental accounting---the modification of the national income accounts to take into consideration the economic role of the environment---has grown in importance over the past ten years. However, many countries have not yet implemented such accounts, and there is much controversy about whether and how to do so.

To explore the concept of green accounting, IUCN Bangladesh held two workshops in Dhaka (1997, 1998). The participants consisted of experts, academics, bureaucrats, policy-makers, and consultants representing a broad spectrum of government and non-government agencies. The workhop proceedings have been published to create a greater awareness of the need for the application of environmental accounting in Bangladesh.

Incorporating environmental concerns into economics involves introducing concepts of sustainability into scarcity. It deals with the issue of how to meet people's current needs in a way which is both equitable and efficient and does not diminish supply or quality of environmental goods and services available to future generations. This book outlines a set of economic tools that can be used for environmental planning

The tools of environmental economics are not as well-known in Asia as they should be. This volume seeks to fill this gap by building understanding in this important area and showing policy-makers how these tools can contribute to resolving important questions in South Asian development. The book begins with an overview paper explaining what economists think about the environment and introduces the tools of valuation, cost-benefit analysis and environmental accounting.

The first part of this publication provides an overview of IUCN Nepal's environmental economics programme, its major objectives and activities, and reviews its future plans. The second part forms a source book of information on environmental economics in Nepal. It is intended to help the reader understand the nature of environmental economics activities and to serve as an important reference material for students, researchers and policy-makers

Government policies on agriculture, forestry, water, energy and industry have tacitly encouraged over-use of the country's natural resources. The consequent exploitation of natural resources has had a negative impact on productivity by raising production and maintenance costs and aggravating the problem of biodiversity conservation.