Publisher Description

A concise yet thorough overview of the environmental issues, problems, and controversies facing the world's largest and most populous continent-Asia. * Interesting sidebar articles, tables and figures, and photographs * Overview maps of the continent and a listing of environment-related organizations on the Internet

Author Biography

Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom are professional writers. Their published works include all six volumes in ABC-CLIO's World Environments series.

Promotional

Amidst the vast steppes of central Asia, the poisoned Aral Sea is fast disappearing, a victim of misguided Soviet irrigation policies. In China, an immense dam system is slowly flooding the spectacular Three Gorges Canyon. The environmental crises facing Asia are as diverse and as monumental as the continent itself.

Long Description

Asia tackles the tough issues, the complex problems, and the political controversies surrounding the environment of this vast landmass. This volume encompasses everything from economics, land use, energy and transportation, to air pollution, rivers and lakes, oceans, and species and habitat protection. In Malaysia, unchecked discharges of industrial waste and human sewage led the government to label 42 of its rivers officially "dead." According to some estimates, Southeast Asia alone accounts for more than half of the world's total transport of sediment to the oceans. In the Philippines, the Chico River dam project, which would have subjected 100,000 tribespeople to relocation, was canceled when the World Bank withdrew funding after fierce resistance from the indigenous people. This fascinating book offers a comprehensive look at how the most populated continent on earth contends with its complicated environment.

Promotional "Headline"

Amidst the vast steppes of central Asia, the poisoned Aral Sea is fast disappearing, a victim of misguided Soviet irrigation policies. In China, an immense dam system is slowly flooding the spectacular Three Gorges Canyon. The environmental crises facing Asia are as diverse and as monumental as the continent itself.

Description for Reader

* Discusses the economics and politics of environmental preservation on the Asian continent * Places Asia's pollution problems in a global perspective * Offers useful sidebars on key environmental issues and people involved in the environmental struggles of Asia

Details