Recent additions to the Library

India, China and Brazil are emerging as the stalwarts in the renewable energy of the developing world.

While India is facing an acute energy scarcity which is hampering its industrial growth and economic progress, it has become essential to tackle the energy crisis through judicious utilization of abundant the renewable energy resources, such as biomass energy, solar energy, wind energy and geothermal energy.

At the same time, China’s rapid economic growth and heavy reliance on...

The business of water supply and demand permeates every aspect of economic activity. Entering the new millennium, uninterrupted access to clean water has emerged as a critical issue affecting economic activity, development and business around the world. It is increasingly clear that lack of access to clean water in many parts of the world is causing great suffering in humanitarian, social, environmental and economic terms and seriously undermines development goals.

Traditionally, India has...

In the global context of State of the Environment (SoE) Reporting, India is probably unique. Over the last two decades, the Indian SoE reporting experience has ranged from grassroots initiatives like wall posters and citizens reports to media and academic documents and more formal government documents. While the quality of these outputs have been mixed, some of the processes adopted and products developed have been pioneering. Consequently, they have contributed to support...

Payments for environmental services (PES) involve schemes where payments or rewards are given by those who benefit from environmental services like clean and sufficient water, biodiversity, stable climate, or aesthetic beauty, to those who play a central role in providing or maintaining these services. Scholars and policy-makers are in the midst of a debate on whether PES creates opportunities or risks for the rural poor—a debate which is also critical to current discussions on reducing...