Environmental valuation and its implications on the costs and benefits of a hydroelectric project in Kerala, India

Although significant developments have taken place in the area of valuation of the environment, the gap between theoretical principles and their operationalisation still remains. This paper makes an attempt to contribute towards bridging this gap. It explores the ways of ‘doing’ environmental valuation in practice in the specific context of a proposed hydroelectric project. Valuation is done within the overall framework of cost-benefit analysis. In the process, a number of methodological issues in environmental cost-benefit analysis have been dealt with. JEL Classification : H 43 Key words: Hydroelectric project, environment, valuation, discount rate, social costs and benefits