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Japan Environmental Council (Ed.)

The State of the Environment in Asia 1999/2000

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Springer

Japan Environmental Council (JEC) AWAJI Takehisa (Editor-in-Chief) Professor Faculty of Law Rikkyo University 3-34-1 Nishiikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-8501, Japan TERANISHI Shun'ichi (Editor-in-Chief) Professor Graduate School of Economics Hitotsubashi University 2-1 Naka, Kunitachi, Tokyo 186-8601, Japan Rick Davis (Translator) Ashigawa, Japan

ISBN-13: 978-4-431-70268-9 e-ISBN-13: 978-4-431-68380-3 DOl: 10.1007/978-4-431-68380-3 Printed on acid-free paper © Springer-Verlag Tokyo 2000 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2000 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in other ways, and storage in data banks. The use of registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Typesetting: Camera-ready by Springer-Verlag Tokyo SPIN: 10741933 (Hard Cover) 10741941 (Soft Cover)

Preface Why Asia? Significance and Purpose of The State of the Environment in Asia

1. Asia and the Future of the Global Environment

2. From Swift Progress to Big Problems Because in recent years Asia has been called the center of world economic growth, until now global attention focused on the region has regarded it solely as one of swift progress. But while this East Asia-centered rapid economic growth gave Asia its momentum, industrialization and urbanization were causing environmental and urban problems throughout the region, as well as destroying rural communities and those countries' historical and cultural traditions. Some of the so-called global environmental problems have also grown serious in Asia, such as soil depletion, desertification, rapid tropical deforestation, and widening damage from acid rain. Further, already in 1991 the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 25% of world emissions of the greenhouse gas CO 2 , with 11.2% from China, 4.8% from Japan, and 3.1 % from India. If nothing is done, estimates say this region will account for 36% in 2025 and over 50% at the end of the 21 st century. Asia now faces what might be called a triad of environmental problems - regional, international, and global and the big question now is how it can create a framework suited to the region at a time when the world prepares to enter the new millennium. Indeed, the picture of Asia is more and more that of a region faced with a plethora of difficult challenges, And therein is one more reason why our interdisciplinary group of academics felt we had to compile this report to elucidate the situation in Asia.

Western social scientists used to regard Asia as a "stagnant society," and, except for Japan, people have thought of postwar Asia as a region that is typical of