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Keywords Developing countries • Eco-industrial parks • Industrial ecology •
Sustainability • Sustainability policy
1 Introduction
1.1 Benefi ts of IE for Developing Countries
The topic ‘industrial ecology (IE) in developing countries’ is as vast as the ocean
and I would not wish to attempt to raft through its entirety with this chapter. Using
my fi eld glasses, I attempt to provide an overview, highlight areas of industrial ecology that have been examined in developing countries and two-way streets for developing countries to benefi t from IE and vice versa. Developing countries
1 can use the
concepts and tools of IE to ensure that the improvements they make to the quality of
life for their citizens is achieved in harmony with improving the health of ecological
systems, while investing effort, time and resources into a resilient economy. Regions
with higher population densities are also ones whose populations are most at risk
due to climate change and other environmental disasters caused by unsustainable
industrialization. Some of these countries (especially BRICS
2 countries) have high
GDP growth rates, owing to relatively recent industrialization, and are at a point
where they could redefi ne their “development” paradigm and vision towards
embracing sustainable progress, rather than focusing on narrowly defi ned economic
expansion (Fig. 11.1 ).
1.2 GDP Fixation
Despite the overwhelming focus on improving a developing country’s GDP , its citizens have to realize, as renowned environmental and policy analyst Vaclav Smil
( 1996 ) reveals, that there is little worth of China ’s impressive 10 % GDP growth if
the true cost of environmental damage caused by this GDP increase is about 15 %
of its GDP. The out-dated practice of “pollute now, clean up later” will only degrade
the country’s environment and quality of life and increase economic expenditure on
future remediation efforts (Erkman and Ramaswamy 2003 ; Chiu and Yong 2004 ).
Moreover, once a country’s development paradigm and infrastructure are built on a
foundation of modern consumerism reliant on profl igate use of fossil fuels,
corrective action to move towards sustainability will be expensive, complex and
challenging to navigate. Some of the reasons for the resistance in developed
1 Defi ned as those with a lower Human Development Index (HDI) and lower standard of living
relative to developed countries.
2 “BRICS countries” refers to Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
M. Shenoy
Keywords Developing countries • Eco-industrial parks • Industrial ecology •
Sustainability • Sustainability policy
1 Introduction
1.1 Benefi ts of IE for Developing Countries
The topic ‘industrial ecology (IE) in developing countries’ is as vast as the ocean
and I would not wish to attempt to raft through its entirety with this chapter. Using
my fi eld glasses, I attempt to provide an overview, highlight areas of industrial ecology that have been examined in developing countries and two-way streets for developing countries to benefi t from IE and vice versa. Developing countries
1 can use the
concepts and tools of IE to ensure that the improvements they make to the quality of
life for their citizens is achieved in harmony with improving the health of ecological
systems, while investing effort, time and resources into a resilient economy. Regions
with higher population densities are also ones whose populations are most at risk
due to climate change and other environmental disasters caused by unsustainable
industrialization. Some of these countries (especially BRICS
2 countries) have high
GDP growth rates, owing to relatively recent industrialization, and are at a point
where they could redefi ne their “development” paradigm and vision towards
embracing sustainable progress, rather than focusing on narrowly defi ned economic
expansion (Fig. 11.1 ).
1.2 GDP Fixation
Despite the overwhelming focus on improving a developing country’s GDP , its citizens have to realize, as renowned environmental and policy analyst Vaclav Smil
( 1996 ) reveals, that there is little worth of China ’s impressive 10 % GDP growth if
the true cost of environmental damage caused by this GDP increase is about 15 %
of its GDP. The out-dated practice of “pollute now, clean up later” will only degrade
the country’s environment and quality of life and increase economic expenditure on
future remediation efforts (Erkman and Ramaswamy 2003 ; Chiu and Yong 2004 ).
Moreover, once a country’s development paradigm and infrastructure are built on a
foundation of modern consumerism reliant on profl igate use of fossil fuels,
corrective action to move towards sustainability will be expensive, complex and
challenging to navigate. Some of the reasons for the resistance in developed
1 Defi ned as those with a lower Human Development Index (HDI) and lower standard of living
relative to developed countries.
2 “BRICS countries” refers to Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
M. Shenoy