This book “Urbanisation and durability in the Asian Countries” is an attempt to present the key aspects of the pattern of the urbanization in the Asian countries. There are many challenges to be overcome in the development of towns and cities in the region. In a number of countries, there is still a strong anti-urban bias towards the growth of cities. Notwithstanding overwhelming evidence to the contrary, urbanization is still seen by many as a problem rather than a positive force in development. However, as country populations become more urbanized, the pressures to manage urbanization so as to take better advantage of its positive impacts should make promoting sustainable and inclusive urban growth a development priority. The battle for sustainable economic growth in the Asian countries will be won or lost in its cities.

This book considers urbanization in Asia and presents case studies of sustainable development "best practice" from 12 Asian countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

Using accessible farming practices to meet the growing demands on agriculture is likely to result in more intense competition for natural resources, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and further deforestation and land degradation, which will in turn produce additional stress in the soil-water-plant-animal continuum. Stress refers to any unfavorable force or condition that inhibits customary functioning in plants. Concurrent manifestations of different stresses (biotic and abiotic) are very frequent in the environment of plants, which consequently reduces yield. Better understanding stress not only changes our perspective on the current environment, but can also bring a wealth of benefits, like improving sustainable agriculture and human beings’ living standards. Innovative systems are called for that protect and enhance the natural resource base, while increasing productivity via ‘holistic’ approaches, such as agroecology, agro-forestry, climate-smart agriculture and conservation agriculture, which also incorporate indigenous and traditional knowledge. The book ‘New Frontiers in Stress Management for Durable Agriculture’ details the current state of knowledge and highlights scientific advances concerning novel aspects of plant biology research on stress, biotic and abiotic stress responses, as well as emergent amelioration and reclamation technologies to restore normal functioning in agroecology.

This book provides a general description and evaluation of the process of urbanization in China and the urgent challenges facing the Chinese government. Urban Transformation in China examines the changing pattern of China's urban population and the determinants of these changes, including an analysis of the spatial structures of China's cities and industry and an assessment of urban productivity growth and the role of mega cities in national development. The book's coverage encompasses both academic and policy perspectives. With its sister volume Urbanization and Social Welfare in China it provides a comprehensive and multidisciplinary overview of the country’s urbanization process.

Kozulj proposes a bold and vital idea: if the activities linked to urban development were reoriented towards the construction and reconstruction of sustainable cities, this would tend to solve a large part of the problem of structural unemployment,

The Statistical Yearbook presents data for the 58 regional Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) member countries, as well as world, regional, sub-regional and economic aggregates for comparison. It offers current trends and emerging topics in the Asia-Pacific, grouped around the themes of people, the environment, the economy and connectivity. It provides the international and regional community with key indicators, objective analyses of the current trends and emerging issues, along with data and charts. In order to maximize the comparability, the Yearbook data is sourced exclusively from international agencies that adhere to the official global statistical standards.

Thoroughly revised and updated, Community Nutrition: Planning Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Second Edition uses real-world examples to reinforce core nutrition concepts and explores the current and emerging nutrition issues faced by today’s diverse communities. It presents the skills, cultural concepts, and background knowledge that are essential for promoting health and preventing disease.

Despite Asia’s rapid growth, vast sections of its population still live in poverty and suffer hunger and other forms of deprivation. Merely relying on Asia’s growth will not help the deprived see a better future in their lifetimes. Ways must be found to make growth more inclusive combined with proactive public action to bring substantial improvements in the lives of Asia’s deprived people. This book is written by a set of experts who have been working long on reducing various aspects of human deprivations in Asia. It begins with a discussion of the massive dimensions of deprivations that continue to exist in Asia. Although many countries have adopted inclusive growth strategies to enable the benefits of growth to reach the poor, much more needs to be done to make growth processes more broad based and beneficial to all. The book points to essential action needed to bring this about. The book also emphasizes the crucial role of determined, target driven public action if Asia’s deprived populations are to see substantial improvement in their lives. Practical measures to tackle problems of hunger, unemployment, gender discrimination, ill health, lack of quality basic education, inadequate access to clean water and basic sanitation are each discussed. The problems of the urban poor and migrants who continue to flock to Asia’s cities are also highlighted. The book also emphasizes the need for an appropriate environment for public action to succeed including strong participatory institutions, effective governance, social protection and regional cooperation.

Statement of responsibility from page [4].