Valuing the environment: Economics for a sustainable future

Environmental economics can identify the underlying causes of environmental problems and point to solutions that benefit people and the planet. Since 1993, Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has worked with researchers in developing countries to build this field of applied research.

A new IDRC book traces how the field has taken shape in developing countries, the kinds of questions it can answer, and the impact it has had. Valuing the Environment: Economics for a Sustainable Future was launched on June 30 at the Fourth World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economists, held at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Below, excerpts from remarks made at the launch, and short interviews with two researchers whose work is featured in the book.

Sir Partha Dasgupta is Frank Ramsey Professor of Economics at the University of Cambridge.
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David Glover, author of Valuing the Environment, leads the Environmental Economics program at IDRC.
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Cao Jing, Assistant Professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, describes her research on the joint benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions while also achieving the domestic benefits of pollution control. Her work on the topic, sponsored by the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), has influenced the Chinese government to take a more coordinated approach to pollution control and climate change.
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Saudamini Das talks about her groundbreaking research on the protective role of mangroves, undertaken with Duke University professor Jeffrey Vincent and supported by the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE). Her work has been published in prestigious scientific journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and showcased in a short movie by the American Museum of Natural History.
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