It will be of much help to planners, policy makers, researchers, students, and field workers in the area of population, environment, and development. TERI is committed to sustainable development approaching development with a comprehensive view of enabling improvements in economic welfare. An essential element in this view is the recognition of the importance of efficient and sustainable resource use among the rural poor. The majority of the poor in India live in rural areas in biomass-based subsistence economies, and their livelihoods are linked to the direct use of land, water, and forest resources. It is, therefore, important to understand the threats to the sustainable use of these resources.
Population growth is seen as one such threat.
However, it is also recognized that population growth per se is not a threat. The manner in which resources are used and accessed, the resource management practices of the people, the presence or absence of various institutions, and the responses of the people to population and developmental pressures are important in enabling the sustainable use of resources. What is required is a greater understanding of these issues across different agro-climatic zones. This study has studied these issues at the micro-level in four villages with different climate and natural resource endowments. We hope that this publication will contribute to a greater and clearer understanding of these issues.