This chapter discusses how the industrial ecological systems can help
in dealing with environmental issues in developing countries, and
it presents three case studies from India that highlight some of
the unique environmental issues of developing world. Industrial ecology
explores the assumption that the industrial system can be seen as
a certain kind of ecosystem. The scope of industrial ecology goes
well beyond waste exchange to the optimization of resources flowing
through the economic system. Among the various specific aspects of
developing countries, which have to be born in mind, is the fact
that the pattern of resource flows in developing countries, and hence,
the resultant environmental threat could be very different than what
it is in the industrialized west. Typically, the flow of materials
through the large, organized manufacturing facilities in the developing
countries could be very small in relation to the overall material
flow as the small, informal ?industry? plays a key role and forms
a very significant portion of the economic activity. The case studies
of the Tirupur textile industries, and the leather industry in India,
illustrate how redefining the problem from a perspective of resource
conservation, and on the basis of resource flow data could point
to totally new directions for strategy planning. The case study of
the Damodar Valley region amplifies the importance of looking beyond
formal industry to solve an environmental problem. It shows that
even for globally critical programs, such as climate change program
in developing countries, it is just not enough to estimate the emissions
from the formal industrial sectors.