Management of environment in developing countries

Summary Environmental problems in developing countries partly arise out of lack of development, hence they are intricately linked to the socio-economic conditions. Environmental awareness and environmental education are critical under these conditions but these are time consuming and slow solutions. Integration of economic and environmental plans for various regions have to be attempted systematically. Time is running out, and unless comprehensive steps are taken up some of the capital assets (such as forests, fresh water, soils, etc.) are likely to be irretrievably damaged.Dr B. Bowonder was, until recently, Chairman of the Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology at the Administrative Staff College, Hyderabad. He recently joined this Journal's Advisory Board and his analysis of the Bhopal Incident (The Environmentalist, 5 (2) 89–103) created considerable interest. He is currently a member of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific.