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Haque, A. K. Enamul , M. N. Murty , and Priya
Shyamsundar . 2011. Environmental Valuation in South
Asia . New Delhi: Cambridge University....
Article in Global Environmental Politics · August 2012
DOI: 10.1162/GLEP_r_00130
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Armin Rosencranz, Maya Kornberg, and Clay Ramel • 143
Patrick Schroeder sees China’s responsibility for climate change through
the lens of sustainable consumption and production, by which he means an
“international political process to promote and support policies and actions
necessary for systemic transition towards sustainable consumption and produc-
tion patterns” (p. 169). As the factory of the world, not only China but also the
consumers around the world should be responsible for greenhouse gases result-
ing from the production process in China. He also argues that China has the op-
portunity to undertake “environmental leapfrogging” in areas like energy, man-
ufacturing, urban development, etc. The chapter by Andreas Oberheitmann and
Eva Sternfeld attempts to offer a new post-Kyoto climate change regime, arguing
that “an international trading system based on this new regime could induce in-
creasing low-carbon technology transfer and it could provide ªnancial support
for China and other developing countries to develop their own eco-efªcient in-
novations” (p. 217).
Some policy options presented are appealing in the theoretical sense but
are hardly practical in the real world, especially when many developed countries
failed to set a good example for the rest of the world during the Kyoto Protocol’s
ªrst commitment period. At the international level, although China, along with
most other countries, argues strongly against any binding commitments, it does
not mean China is doing nothing in responding to the problem of climate
change domestically. In the past few years, China has felt more pressure from
within to tackle greenhouse gas pollution and other air pollution problems.
This book, especially Harris’s two chapters, should be a must-read for all
students of environmental politics, offering a new way of looking at agents in
global environmental politics. It tries to ªnd a new way to shift the blame at the
international level to real action among afºuent people all over the world who
are the real contributors to climate change.
Haque, A. K. Enamul, M. N. Murty, and Priya Shyamsundar. 2011. Environmental Valuation
in South Asia. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press.
Reviewed by Armin Rosencranz, Maya Kornberg, and Clay Ramel
Stanford University
Armin Rosencranz, Maya Kornberg, and Clay Ramel
The editors of this volume attempt to tackle the complex issue of economic val-
uation of the environment’s resources and services. They bring together case
studies from across South Asia, expounding upon various economic valuation
methods and delving into the application of these methods for speciªc issues
ranging from the effect of salinization and pesticide use on agricultural produc-
tion to that of air pollution on mortality. Although the book’s broad scope af-
fords a multifaceted understanding of the many challenging issues involved in
environmental valuation in the region, the lack of overarching organization or
method detracts from its overall effectiveness.
The economic valuation methods presented are varied and painstakingly
laid out. The introduction explains that valuation is important because it helps
144 • Book Reviews
to design sustainable policies, make investment choices based on environmen-
tal risk, and accurately measure economic output. Multiple studies, such as one
on shrimp farming or another on pesticides in vegetable farming, examine the
environmental externalities of production ignored in agriculture and industry.
The studies in the book generally treat the environment as an input in the pro-
duction of a marketable good. For example, studies on forest regeneration con-
sider the regulating services that these forests provide as a portion of the overall
production function for downstream economic activity. Just as labor or capital
goods contribute to a ªrm’s production ability, so do ecosystem services. Studies
of the storm protection beneªts of conserving mangroves, for example, center
on regulating services of ecosystems, using this production function technique.
The analysis of parks in Islamabad, Pakistan, and the Indian Sunderban
employ the travel cost method, which uses the costs that visitors incur traveling
to the site in order to estimate the demand curve for recreation. Yet another al-
ternative is the “hedonic price” approach, which evaluates changes in the value
of an environmental good by looking at changes in prices of the good in a paral-
lel market. One study, for example, uses housing prices in Delhi and Kolkata to
estimate the beneªts of reducing air pollution, and another study uses wage
data from industrial workers to show the economic value of a worker’s life.
By including a policy recommendation section after most of the case stud-
ies, the book provides interesting accounts of the political dynamics at play in
environmental issues in South Asia. These recommendations combine research
with suggestions for concrete action. In one case, shrimp farmers’ activities re-
sulted in elevated soil salinity and an associated decline in local agricultural
production. The authors of the chapter question what policies might best help
remedy this negative externality. They identify a local farmer’s irrigation society
as a primary agent of change in this realm and suggest that it might inºuence
the adoption of various salinity control measures, such as rainfall capture,
chemical desalination, and taxes on shrimp farmers, that would help internalize
the costs of increased land and water salinity.
The book also identiªes challenges to conducting research in developing
countries and suggests ways that students and researchers can conduct similar
research in this ªeld in the future. In this spirit, each study in the book offers a
different creative strategy for data collection and analysis in its particular niche.
These portions may prove helpful to future research in the ªeld, and the editors
are to be commended for so stressing their inclusion.
Although the book presents the reader with a diverse array of valuation
strategies, methods, policy recommendations, and research challenges, the vol-
ume as a whole lacks a strong, unifying message. In general, compilations of
studies organized around a general topic or collected to advance an argument
stand to beneªt from strong organizational structure and somewhat compara-
ble methods or strategies of valuation. Here we have not only apples and or-
anges but a whole basket of fruits with no way to compare them. Though the is-
sues discussed in this book are interesting, they are brought forward one after
Armin Rosencranz, Maya Kornberg, and Clay Ramel • 145
another with little apparent connection, leaving the reader daunted and con-
fused. The content of this book is scattered all over a wide range of topics, which
makes it hard to follow. Additionally, the style of writing changes from chapter
to chapter. Some authors frame their conclusions to argue for speciªc changes,
while others simply summarize their ªndings. This mix of presentation styles
further weakens the ºow of the book. The copyediting throughout the volume is
also poor; some sections contained multiple errors on a single page.
The most notable defect of this volume, though, is that it does not offer a
conclusion for the work as a whole. Given the incredible latitude of topics
broached in this collection, a conclusion that synthesized the lessons would
have measurably improved the quality of the volume.
In sum, Environmental Valuation in South Asia is a stimulating compilation
of studies that use economic valuation to make insightful policy recommenda-
tions about a wide array of environmental problems. However, a lack of organi-
zational cohesion and care detract from the professionalism of the work, and,
therefore, from its effectiveness.
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