Environment and development theory

Many of the theories and approaches addressed so far in the book have included implicit reference to the natural environment, but in this chapter, the ways in which ‘development’ and ‘environment’ have been considered will be at the centre of the discussion. Theories of economic growth are related to questions of resource use and distribution. Many of these resources come from the natural environment and in many cases development processes can lead to the destruction of significant parts of this natural environment.