Few people would deny that the provision of adequate and accessible infrastructure lies at
the heart of economic growth and poverty reduction across the globe. It would, however, be
extremely naïve to overlook the fact that there also exists an inherent tension between
development and nature conservation. This tension has fundamentally to do with making choices
about how, where, and why to produce, consume, and invest. In the context of this essay, one of
the most critical trade-offs involves balancing the benefits of large-scale development projects
with the costs that are incurred when they give rise to ecosystem degradation.