Many political battles, policy initiatives, academic debates and our understanding of the world in general have been shaped by the ideas that have developed around the concepts of environment, technology and development. While they emerged independent of each other, today they are closely interconnected.

How do these concepts influence each other, how have they subverted established ideas and dogmas, how have they developed over time and what are their varied uses and meaning? This volume brings together writings across disciplines, perspectives and ideologies that address these questions, map the main conceptual lines and identify the points where they converge and diverge.

The articles have appeared over the past four decades in the Economic and Political Weekly. The introduction provides an overview of the theoretical underpinnings that led to the emergence that led to the emergence of the current notion of environmental development.

Rohan D’Souza is Assistant Professor, Centre for Studies in Science Policy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.