Green Development

Environment and Sustainability in a Developing World

By W.M. Adams

The concept of sustainability lies at the core of the challenge of environment and development and the way governments, business and environmental groups respond to it. Green Development provides a clear and coherent analysis of sustainable development in both theory and practice.

This third edition retains the clear and powerful argument of previous editions, but has been updated to reflect advances in ideas and changes in international policy. Greater attention has been given to political ecology, environmental risk and the environmental impacts of development.

This fully revised edition discusses:

• the origins of thinking about sustainability and sustainable development and its evolution to the present day


• the ideas that dominate mainstream sustainable development (ecological modernization, market environmentalism and environmental economics)


• the nature and diversity of alternative ideas about sustainability that challenge ‘business as usual’ thinking (for example ecosocialism, ecofeminism, deep ecology and political ecology)


• the dilemmas of sustainability in the context of dryland degradation, deforestation, biodiversity conservation, dam construction and urban and industrial development


• the nature of policy choices about the environment and development strategies and between reformist and radical responses to the contemporary global dilemmas.

Green Development offers clear insights into the challenges of environmental sustainability and social and economic development. It is unique in offering a synthesis of theoretical ideas on sustainability and in its coverage of the extensive literature on the environment and development around the world.

This book has proved its value to generations of students as an authoritative, thought-provoking and readable guide to the field of sustainable development.

ISBN: 9780415395076

Published July 30 2008 by Routledge.