India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), the world's largest public works program, has been demonstrated to have beneficial impacts on a wide range of outcomes, but its effects on agricultural productivity have been relatively understudied (Sukhtankar, 2017). We test whether...

In the Gangetic flood plain of West Bengal, wetlands are used for multiple purposes, and have significant role in the livelihoods of the local people. Over the years, these Multiple Use Systems (MUSs) are getting converted to single use systems due to economic and social pressure from dominant...

India and China are two similar developing countries with huge populations, rapid economic growth and limited natural resources, therefore facing the massive pressure of ensuring food security. In this paper, we will discuss the food security situations in these two countries by studying the...

Little is known about the effectiveness of information strategies on energy conservation in developing countries. In this study, we conduct a field experiment in an apartment complex in India to test how information about electricity usage impacts the electricity consumption of urban middle...

Development and environmental issues of small cities in developing countries have largely been overlooked although these settlements are of global demographic importance and often face a “triple challenge”; that is, they have limited financial and human resources to address growing...

Groundwater is one of the most valuable resources for drinking water and irrigation in the Maheshwaram Catchment, Central India, where most of the local population depends on it for agricultural activities. An increasing demand for irrigation and the growing concern about potential water...

Urban greenery provides ecosystem services that play an important role in the challenging context of urban deprivation and poverty. This study assesses the social importance of vegetation through empirical assessment of 44 urban slums in the rapidly developing southern city of Bangalore, India....

For centuries, the Ganges River in India has been the locus of sacred rites for the Hindus. The religious significance of the Ganges is physically manifested in <em>ghats</em> (stepped landings) that form the land-water interface. Besides serving as a site for religious bathing and cremation, the <em>ghats</em>...