The determinants of individual behaviors that provide shared environmental benefits are a longstanding theme in social science research. Alternative behavioral models yield markedly different predictions and policy recommendations. This paper reviews and compares the literatures from two disciplines that appear to be moving toward a degree of convergence. In social psychology, moral theories of pro-environmental behavior have focused on the influence of personal moral norms while recognizing that external factors, such as costs and incentives, ultimately limit the strength of the norm-behavior relationship. Rational choice models, such as the theory of planned behavior in social psychology and the theories of voluntary provision of public goods in economics, have sought to incorporate the effects of personal norms and to measure their importance in explaining behaviors, such as recycling and the demand for green products. This paper explores the relationship between these approaches and their implications for the theory and practice of ecological economics.

Farmers’ organizations (FOs), such as associations, cooperatives, self-help and women’s groups, are common in developing countries and provide services that are widely viewed as contributing to income and productivity for small-scale producers. Here, we conducted a scoping review of the literature on FO services and their impacts on small-scale producers in sub-Saharan Africa and India. Most reviewed studies (57%) reported positive FO impacts on farmer income, but much fewer reported positive impacts on crop yield (19%) and production quality (20%). Environmental benefits, such as resilience-building and improved water quality and quantity were documented in 24% of the studies. Our analysis indicates that having access to markets through information, infrastructure, and logistical support at the centre of FO design could help integrate FOs into policy. Natural resource management should also be more widely incorporated in the services provided by FOs to mitigate risks associated with environmental degradation and climate change. Finally, farmers who are already marginalized because of poor education, land access, social status and market accessibility may require additional support systems to improve their capacities, skills and resources before they are able to benefit from FO membership.

Many empirical environmental justice (EJ) studies lack a systematic framework in which to undertake research and interpret results. This paper characterizes the conventional EJ study and examines how results can be influenced by the choice of the spatial scale and scope of analysis.After thoroughly examining a sample of prominent EJ studies, a conventional EJ study is performed for (Superfund) National Priorities List sites. The sensitivity of these results to changes in scale and scope choices demonstrates the observed inconsistency in the empirical literature. Implications for interpreting existing EJ research and conducting future EJ research are discussed.

Small and marginal farmers in India have been vulnerable to risks in agricultural production. Several organizational prototypes are emerging to integrate them into the value chain with the objective of enhancing incomes and reducing transaction costs. Among these are Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). We explore the potential of FPOs as collective institutions through a case study of Avirat, one of the first FPOs in Gujarat. Our analysis suggests that FPOs have the potential to provide benefits through effective collective action. The main challenge, however, is to raise sufficient capital to maximize these benefits. We discuss the implications of our findings to policy.

IntroductIon 1 rama Mohana r. turaga and Kalyan Bhaskar E lectronic waste (e-waste), that is, waste arising from end-of-life electronic products such as computers and mobile phones, is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world today. Annual global production of e-waste is estimated to surpass 50 million tons in 2020. 2 India is among the top five e-waste producing countries in the world with estimated annual production of 2 million tons. Like some of the other developing countries, e-waste management in India is dominated by the informal sector with estimates of more than 90 per cent of the waste being processed in this sector. E-waste contains several precious metals, rare earth metals, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, plastic, wood and glass. Unscientific practices in the processing of e-waste are associated with several environmental and health externalities. 3 In response to these concerns, many developed and devel-1 The earlier versions of the articles in this colloquium (except for the article by Hitesh Sharma) were written for the report 'E-waste Roadmap 2023 for India', an initiative under the India E-waste Program of the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The programme was supported by the Government of Japan and the Korea Green Growth Trust Fund of the World Bank. We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Neeta Misra, Sarina Bolla and Kalyan Bhaskar, the editors of the 'E-waste Roadmap 2023 for India' report, who worked with a team of experts on e-waste in India and were responsible for the editing of the initial versions of many of the articles in the colloquium.