ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS - TOWARDS A SYNTHESIS OF 2 DISJUNCT DISCIPLINES

The basis of all human activity is the use of natural resources, which also constitute the basic life support system. All economic activity, directly or indirectly, derives its sustenance from the environmental resources. The correlation between economic growth and natural resour ce depletion has of late attracted the attention of economists, but th ey form only a minority. The present article addresses basic issues le ading to differing perceptions among ecologists and economists as far as economic growth is concerned and also tries to explore how this gap could be narrowed. The paper also reviews in brief some of the most r ecent international debates relating to ecological economics. The intr icate problems of economic evaluation of ecosystems and the difficulti es encountered in this process have been highlighted.