The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, with
financial support from the World Bank, has been implementing the
India-Environmental Capacity Building Technical Assistance Project
from 1 October 1996. An important component of the project is
environmental economics. The Expert Committee on Environmental
Economics (ECEE), under the Chairmanship of Dr. Raja J. Chelliah, is
responsible for effective implementation and monitoring of this
programme. Four core institutions (Madras School of Economics,
Chennai; Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai;
Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi; and Indian Statistical
Institute, Calcutta) and 18 interested institutions have been chosen
for countrywide implementation of the project. The four
sub-committees (Environmental Economics Course and Curriculum
Committee, Environmental Economics Training Committee for Practicing
Economists and Non-economists, Environmental Economics Research
Committee and Environmental Economics Overseas Fellowship Committee)
are entrusted with the responsibility of implementing the four
sub-components of the environmental economics programme.
The ECEE at its meeting held on 9 September, 1997 recommended a
Base Line Survey on the Status of Teaching and Research in
Environmental Economics in India. The main objective of the Survey
is to elicit information from universities, research institutions
and colleges regarding
- names of experts in environmental economics,
- courses offered in environmental economics at undergraduate
and post graduate levels,
- M. Phil and Ph.D. dissertations in environmental economics,
and
- research projects undertaken/completed in environmental
economics, and
- publications in environmental economics.
An advertisement regarding the Survey was inserted in November
1997 in Down to Earth, Economic and Political Weekly, Indian
Economic Journal, Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Journal
of Quantitative Economics, Indian Journal of Labour Economics and
UGC News. Letters were also sent to Heads of Economics Departments
of all universities, and Directors of ICSSR institutes, IITs and
IIMs requesting them to furnish the information. A second letter was
sent to all these institutions in May 1998. Based on the information
received till 31 July, 1998, a draft report of the Baseline Survey
was released at the Project Launch Meeting held at Chennai on 14
October, 1998.
The Environmental Economics Course and Curriculum Committee
recommended that the draft report should be updated so that it could
be used as a basis to identify institutions for library support and
circulation of quarterly newsletters about the environmental
economics programme and scholars for participation in different
activities of this programme. Hence, an advertisement was inserted
in Economic and Political Weekly and UGC News in May 1999. Letters
were also sent to all the institutions included in the first list.
This report incorporates all the information received from 92
respondents till 15 December 1999. This information is categorized
under six heads: list of universities/institutes, list of
specialists, list of courses offered, list of dissertations, list of
projects and list of publications. Heads of the institutions are
requested to furnish information about their on-going and new
activities in the field of environmental economics for inclusion in
the quarterly newsletters published by MSE in January, April, July
and October every year.
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