‘Professor Rabindra Nath Bhattacharya’s research in environmental economics ranges from the micro to the macro, from investigations of common property resource institutions on land and at sea to the interrelationships among economic growth, energy consumption, and climate change. This volume assembles works written in his honour by a distinguished group of scholars from institutions in South Asia and around the world. In addition to paying tribute to Professor Bhattacharya’s diverse contributions, the chapters demonstrate the ability of economics to help us understand and address some of the most challenging problems facing humanity.’ Jeffrey R. Vincent, Korstian Distinguished Professor in Forest Economics and Management in the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University, USA Environmental Economics in Developing Countries The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the vulnerabilities of socio-economic systems globally and exposed the risks that natural capital degradation imposes on human health, economy, and society. This book studies the environmental challenges faced by developing economies in a post-COVID-19 world. Exploring diverse case studies from South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the volume discusses the impact that economic development and, recently, COVID-19 has had on the environment, ecology, and economy of these regions. It analyzes Nature conservation policies aimed at minimizing ecological damage arising from economic development and discusses the policy objectives of sustainable development. It also highlights the significant role that environmental economics networks have played in capacity building, framing of policies using ecological economics tools, and developing a local leadership trained in addressing local sustainability issues. An important contribution to the study of environmental economics of the Global South, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of economics, environment, development studies, development economics, environmental policies, and South Asia studies. It will also be useful for policymakers and NGOs working in this field. Achiransu Acharyya is Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Visva-Bharati (A Central University) situated in Santiniketan, West Bengal, India. Previously he has taught at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, and St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata, India. His areas of teaching and research are mainly in natural resource and environmental economics, agricultural economics, and economics of water resources. For the past several years, he has been working on areas involving property rights and ownership of land and water, the economics of groundwater resources in agriculture, the use of energy for agriculture, and sustainable development. He has several national and international publications in journals and books to his credit. He has worked on several national and international research projects related to agriculture, the environment, and sustainable development. He visited the University of Oregon, USA, on a teaching cum research fellowship. He has also visited the University of Nijmegen in The Netherlands as a visiting scholar. He has received various awards for his research, including the third prize in the James D. Wolfensohn Essay Competition sponsored by The World Bank, Washington DC, USA and the Dr. N.A. Mujumdar Prize awarded by the Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, Mumbai, India. He is Chief Editor of the journal Indian Groundwater. He is also Associate Editor of the reputed Bengali social science journal Anustup. Environmental Economics in Developing Countries Issues and Challenges Edited by Achiransu Acharyya First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Achiransu Acharyya; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Achiransu Acharyya to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. With the exception of Chapter 13, no part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Chapter 13 of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www .routledge. com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Acharyya, Achiransu, editor. Title: Environmental economics in developing countries: issues and challenges/edited by Achiransu Acharyya. Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2023. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2022025954 (print) | LCCN 2022025955 (ebook) | ISBN 9781032182919 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032384504 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003253884 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Economic development–Environmental aspects– Developing countries. | Sustainable development–Developing countries. | Environmental economics–Developing countries. Classification: LCC HC59.72.E5 E5844 2023 (print) | LCC HC59.72.E5 (ebook) | DDC 333.7/091724–dc23/eng/20220601 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022025954 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022025955 ISBN: 978-1-032-18291-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-38450-4 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-25388-4 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003253884 Typeset in Sabon by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India Essays in Honour of Rabindra N. Bhattacharya Professor Rabindra N. Bhattacharya has been a pioneer in introducing the subject of environmental economics to students and researchers in India in the late 1980s. After obtaining a PhD from Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA, where he won the ‘Outstanding Achievement Award’, Professor Bhattacharya joined the University of North Bengal in West Bengal, where he taught for almost ten years before shifting to the University of Kalyani, another University of West Bengal, India, from where he retired as Professor in 2004. During his career, he has published many papers on environ- mental economics in topmost journals. Professor Bhattacharya has been a resource person for SANDEE (South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics) for more than ten years and has imparted knowledge on environmental economics to many students from South Asia. This volume is a humble attempt to forward the legacy that he has cre- ated. All the authors in this book have contributed their chapters in his honour. Contents List of figures xii List of tables xiv List of contributors xvi Foreword: Understanding the Role of Nature in Economic Development xxiv PARTHA DASGUPTA Preface xxviii Acknowledgements xxx List of abbreviations xxxi Introduction and Overview: Environmental Economics in Developing Countries 1 ACHIRANSU ACHARYYA PART I Environment, Ecology and Development 35 1 Three Theories of Growth, Environment, and Poverty Nexus 37 M.N. MURTY 2 Natural Capital, Pandemic, and Development: Exploration of Nexus and Solutions 51 PUSHPAM KUMAR, AMELIA HOLMES, AND SAMIA ISLAM 3 COVID-19: A Neo-Malthusian Event?: Ecological links, Challenges, and Opportunities 81 RAMPRASAD SENGUPTA AND CHETANA CHAUDHURI 4 Electrification and Development: Empirical Evidence on the Effect of Electricity Provision on Household Welfare 109 UJJAYANT CHAKRAVORTY AND MARTINO PELLI