Environmental economics is a branch of economics which deals with the inter-relationships between environment and development. Economic activities of human beings have a profound impact on natural environment. Hence, use/abuse of natural resources has raised many moral, legal and practical questions for present and future generations. Presently, many governments require cost-benefit analysis of policy options with regard to changes in environmental legislations by resetting environmental standards and introducing new policy instruments for environmental protection. Environmental economics has also made significant contributions to valuation techniques and design of new policy instruments for pollution control and management. This book provides a comprehensive description of current environmental problems facing the world and their solutions through economic institutions, economic incentives and other instruments and policies. In other words, the book focuses on international environmental problems and how economic principles can be applied to solve them. The book contains 22 chapters which have been organized into 6 theme parts. Part I (chapters 1 to 6) is titled Introduction to Environmental Economics. It provides conceptual and analytical clarity as regards environmental economics, protection of biological diversity, forests and environment, environmental pollution, principles of microeconomics and theories of welfare economics. Part II (chapters 7 and 8) is titled Theory of Externalities. It explains the concepts of externalities, failure of market, Pareto optimality, property rights, and Coase theorem. Part III (chapters 9 to 12) is titled Design and Implementation of Environmental Policy. It discusses Pigouvian taxes, effluent fees, tradable permits, choice between taxes and quotas, and implementation of environment policy. Part IV (chapters 13 to 17) is titled International Environmental Problems. It covers trans-boundary environmental problems, global climate change and the Paris Agreement (and the subsequent US withdrawal), climate change and India, and trade and environment. Part V (chapters 18 and 19) is titled Measuring Benefits of Environmental Improvements. It delves into non-market values and measurement methods, and risk assessment and perception. Part VI (chapters 20 to 22) is titled Sustainable Development. It deals with the concept and measurement of sustainable development, development framework for mining sector, and disaster mitigation and management. The book also contains a glossary of terms related to environment and ecology. CONTENTS Part I: Introduction to Environmental Economics 1. Basics of Environmental Economics 1.1 Conflict between Environment and Development 1.2 Environmental Economics and Environmental Management 1.3 Green Growth 1.4 Urbanization and Environment 1.5 Women and the Environment 1.6 International Efforts and Co-operation 1.7 Environmental Education, Awareness and Training 2. Protection of Biological Diversity 2.1 Biosphere Reserves 2.2 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 2.3 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 2.4 World Heritage Convention (WHC) 2.5 International Whaling Commission (IWC) 2.6 Range of India’s Biodiversity 2.7 India’s Rich Ecosystems 2.8 Biological Diversity Act, 2002 2.9 Floral and Faunal Diversity 2.10 Marine Biodiversity 3. Forests and Environment 3.1 Forest Products 3.2 Forests and Fisheries 3.3 Forests and Hydrological Cycle 3.4 Forests and Ecological Security 3.5 Forests and Ecotourism 3.6 Forests and Urban Population 3.7 Agro Forestry 4. Environmental Pollution 4.1 Environmental Pollution Defined 4.2 Land Pollution and Degradation 4.3 Water Pollution 4.4 Air Pollution 4.5 Noise Pollution 5. Principles of Microeconomics 5.1 Economic Laws and Their Assumptions 5.2 Macroeconomics and Microeconomics 5.3 Economic Models 5.4 Demand, Supply and Price Determination 5.5 Factors of Production and Their Rewards 5.6 Market Structure 5.7 Short-run and Long-run 5.8 A Firm and its Objective Function 5.9 Production Function 5.10 Cost Function 5.11 Revenue Function 5.12 Input-Output Analysis 6. Theories of Welfare Economics 6.1 Allocative Inefficiency 6.2 Models of Efficient Allocation (or Allocative Efficiency) 6.3 Gross National Product (GNP) Growth as Welfare Criterion 6.4 Bentham’s Criterion 6.5 Cardinalist Criterion 6.6 Kaldor-Hicks Compensation Criterion 6.7 Bergson Social Welfare Function Part II: Theory of Externalities 7. Market Failure Due to Externalities and Pareto Optimality 7.1 What is an Externality? 7.2 Classification of Externalities 7.3 Negative Externalities 7.4 Positive Externalities 7.5 Public versus Private Goods 7.6 Pure and Impure Public Goods 7.7 Public Goods and the Free Riding Problem 7.8 Limitations of Market Mechanism 7.9 Market Failure for Public Goods 7.10 Pareto Optimality Criterion 8. Property Rights and Coase Theorem 8.1 Externalities and Property Right 8.2 Coase Theorem Part III: Design and Implementation of Environmental Policy 9. Pigouvian Taxes and Effluent Fees 9.1 General Type of Solutions to the Problem of Externalities 9.2 Pigouvian Taxes 9.3 Effluent Fees 9.4 Taxes versus Regulation 10. Tradable Pollution Permits 10.1 Economic Growth and Environment 10.2 What are Tradable Permits? 10.3 Purpose of Tradable Permits 10.4 Economics of Tradable Permits 10.5 Methods of Allocation 10.6 Problems of Pollution Permits 10.7 Precautions Needed 10.8 International Emissions Trading 11. Choice between Taxes and Quotas 11.1 Environmental Policy Instruments 11.2 Tradable Emission Permits 11.3 Environmental Taxes 11.4 Quotas (Command-and-Control Instruments) 11.5 Taxes and Quotas: A Comparison 12. Implementation of Environment Policy 12.1 International Concerns and Efforts 12.2 Environmental Legislations and Their Ineffectiveness 12.3 Implementation of Environmental Policy in India 12.4 Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 12.5 Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 12.6 Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 12.7 Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 12.8 Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 12.9 National Environmental Tribunal Act, 1995 12.10 National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997 12.11 National Green Tribunal Act (NGTA), 2010 Part IV: International Environmental Problems 13. Trans-boundary Environmental Problems 13.1 Uniformly and Non-uniformly Mixing Pollutants 13.2 Global Warming as a Trans-boundary Problem 13.3 Depletion of Ozone Layer as Trans-boundary Problem 13.4 Acid Rain as a Trans-boundary Problem 13.5 Solutions to Trans-boundary Problems 14. Global Climate Change and the Paris Agreement 14.1 Evidence on Climate Change 14.2 Consequences of Climate Change 14.3 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 14.4 Kyoto Protocol 14.5 Copenhagen Accord, 2009 and Cancún Agreements, 2010 14.6 Paris Agreement, 2015 15. US Withdrawal from Paris Agreement and Challenges Ahead 16. Climate Change and India 16.1 Impact of Climate Change on India 16.2 India’s Approach to Climate Change 16.3 National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) 16.4 Other National and Sub-National Initiatives 17. Trade and the Environment 17.1 Linkages between Trade and Environment 17.2 Positive and Negative Effects of Trade on Environment 17.3 Climate Change Can Disrupt Trade 17.4 World Trade Organization (WTO) and Environment 17.5 Trade-off between Trade and Environment Policies Part V: Measuring Benefits of Environmental Improvements 18. Non-market Values and Measurement Methods 18.1 Market and Non-market Goods 18.2 Why is Valuation Required? 18.3 Methods of Non-market Valuation 19. Risk Assessment and Risk Perception 19.1 What is Risk? 19.2 Risk Assessment 19.3 Risk Perception Part VI: Sustainable Development 20. Sustainable Development: Concept and Measurement 20.1 What is Sustainable Development? 20.2 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 20.3 Sustainable Development Goals Report, 2018 20.4 Economic Instruments for Promoting Sustainable Development 21. Sustainable Development Framework for Mining Sector 21.1 Mining Activities and Ecological Balance 21.2 Integrating Economic Activity with Environment Integrity 21.3 Mining and Land Use Management 21.4 Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Environment Management Systems (EMS) 22. Disaster Mitigation and Management 22.1 Classification of Disasters 22.2 World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction 22.3 Disaster Management: Global Experiences 22.4 Disaster Management in India Glossary of Terms Related to Environment and Ecology Bibliography Index