Adopting a comparative perspective, this book traces the social, political, economic and cultural conditions under which environmental movements have emerged, and assesses the transformative capacities of these movements.

Exploring one of the most dynamic and contested regions of the world, this series includes works on political, economic, cultural, and social changes in modern and contemporary Asia and the Pacific.

Asia has a long history of environmental degradation and its fair share of natural disasters. This volume paints a general picture of the Asian situation, examining the effect of environmental campaigns

A concise yet thorough overview of the environmental issues, problems, and controversies facing the world's largest and most populous continent—Asia. 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.

Why Asia? Significance and Purpose of The State of the Environment in Asia 1. Asia and the Future of the Global 2. From Swift Progress to Big Problems Environment Because in recent years Asia has been called the center of world economic growth, until now global attention fo Western social scientists used to regard Asia as a "stag cused on the region has regarded it solely as one of swift nant society," and, except for Japan, people have thought of progress. postwar Asia as a region that is typical of the continuing But while this East Asia-centered rapid economic "vicious circle of poverty." I growth gave Asia its momentum, industrialization and ur But in contrast to other developing regions, since the banization were causing environmental and urban problems latter half of the 1960s or 1970s South Korea, Taiwan, Hong throughout the region, as well as destroying rural communi Kong, and Singapore were the first to follow in Japan's foot ties and those countries' historical and cultural traditions.

This volume paints a general picture of the environmental situation in Asia, backing it up with several case studies. Two major points are made in this general picture. The first is that environmental campaigns in Asia tend to have a local focus; they react to very concrete problems in the immediate neighbourhood and as such usually people are engaged in a cause for practical rather than idealistic reasons. Such can be seen in case studies from the volume dealing with campaigns against logging and tree plantations, tourist facilities and factories and in support or defence of nature reserves. This pattern is in marked contrast to the profile of the most successful Western movements (in terms of fund-raising at least) for whom the focus is on perceived problems in distant parts of the world. The second point is evidence in several of the case studies in the volume, namely that environmental campaigns cannot be understood in terms of environmental issues alone. Rather, they should be regarded as a form of cultural critique and frequently are a form of political resistance in situations where open political action is too risky.