For more than three decades, various initiatives have been undertaken at the international level to integrate environmental aspects with the development policy, plans and programme in order to ensure sound and sustainable development. Despite the significant progress in the realm of institutional development, international cooperation, ratification and implementation of conventions, formulation of conservation strategies, public participation and emergence of local communities and NGOs action, the magnitude of environmental pollution problems; the list of degraded ecosystems and threatened species, unsustainable uses of environmental resources, urban poor are on the increase. Many areas of agenda 21 still lag behind in implementation. The challenges have become far more complex and serious than what has been visualized at the 1992 Earth summit. Globalization, new emerging environmental problems, the information revolution, unexpected global financial shocks, spreading civil unrest, and social dislocation in many countries have changed the framework for sustainable development. There is also a growing consensus among environmentalists that the sustainable management of environmental resources is in a stage of transition. Sustainable management of environmental resources is a process oriented towards development initiatives that involve a wholly integrated and holistic approach. At present the environmental management and sustainable development is still in the crossroad with low level of integration. The present trend indicated that time for action of integrating environmental management and sustainable development is running out fast. Therefore, there is urgent need for an integration environmental management with the elements of sustainable development and the outcome will help safeguard the life supporting system as well as initiate sustainable management of environmental resources fulfilling the needs of present generation and preserving the resources for future generation. The present book especially offers a comprehensive look at the status and scenario in the area of integrating environmental dimensions with the sustainable development at regional as well as national level. The book also assess of the existing constraints and lacunas surfaced both at the policy and program as well as at implementation level. Finally an attempt has been made to recommend future course of action fro the Nepalese perspective, for maintaining balance between social-economic needs of the people and the capacity of the earth's ecosystems so as to fulfill the needs of present and future generations.

This book is available from:
Dr. K.Joshi,
C/O: RubRICK, P.O. Box 11121, Kathmandu, Nepal.
e-mail: kunjanijoshi@hotmail.com

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OPINION ON THE BOOK “Environmentla Mangement and Susatainable Development at the Crossroad”)

This book is one of the most informative document available for environmentalists and development practitioners particularly of Nepal to utilize her available resource endowment for the overall development in achieving the new global paradigm of sustainable development in days ahead…. The message contained in the book is that without environmental management, development cannot be made sustainable. Nothing will happen unless and until environmental management and development are integrated. Though the efforts to integrate them have been initiated, it is still at the crossroads… The topics included are highly relevant in the present day context of Nepal and South Asia. Therefore the book under review is not only to be considered as a food for the Nepalese development thinkers, politicians , planners and environmentalists but it is equally useful to university student (particularly, student of environment , economics and engineering faculties) and others who are interested in development research workers on Nepal.

Prem Lal Chitrakr
The Rising Nepal, Friday Supplement, August 1, 2003.p.3

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ECOPRINT (An International Journal of Ecology), Vol.10, No.1, 2003.

….The book is an outcome of expertise and experiences of three senior environmentalists and plant scientists of Nepal…….Authors of this book entitiled “Environmental management and Sustainable Development at the Crossroad” have given emphasis that development and environment protection, both are essential in the developing country like Nepal………..The book attempts to assess the constrients and lacunas surfaces at the policy and program as well as at the implementation level. Useful information and data are presented in the book, and a good effort has been made to recommend future course of actions from the Nepalese perspective for manipulating balance between socio-economic needs of the people. ………

Prof. P.K. Jha

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Development economics and environmental science are the approaches taken in this book’s treatment of sustainability management issues. The authors provide a set of historical perspectives and case studies from Nepal’s development experience to chart the progressive adoption of environmental agendas in its 5-year plans, and to identify constraints and opportunities in evolving development practice. The rational of the book is that better integration of knowledge from different development sectors applied in pro-poor participatory initiatives can direct bureaucratic processes towards more effectively managed sustainable outcomes.

As professional practitioners, the authors give informative and factually oriented reviews of the state of play in matters such as wetland conservation, hydropower schemes, road programs, trail-bridge technologies, traditional uses of plants, and the application of Environmental impact assessment methods. From their insider perspectives, a huge amount of statistical and technical data from gray literature is assembled to give the reader a sense of the kinds of knowledge that inform environmental management in Nepal. The idea of a ‘crossroad’ is brought in at the conclusion of the book to signify a new, globally interconnected scenario for thinking about environmental problems, beyond the old framework of land degradation, biodiversity loss, and natural disasters.


Ben Campbell
Department of Anthopology, University of Durham, UK.