Routledge Handbook of Environment and Society in Asia

Nowhere is the connection between society and the environment more evident and potentially more harmful for the future of the world than in Asia. In recent decades, rapid development of Asian countries with very large populations has led to an unprecedented increase in environmental problems such as air and water pollution, solid and hazardous wastes, deforestation, depletion of natural resources and extinction of native species. This handbook provides a comprehensive survey of the cultural, social and policy contexts of environmental change across East Asia. The team of international experts critically examine a wide range of environmental problems related to energy, climate change, air, land, water, fisheries, forests and wildlife. The editors conclude that, with nearly half of the human population of the planet, and several rapidly growing economies, most notably China, Asian societies will determine much of the future of human impacts on the regional and global environments. As climate change-related threats to society increase, the book strongly argues for increased environmental consciousness and action in Asian societies. This handbook is a very valuable companion for students, scholars, policy makers and researchers working on environmental issues in Asia.

Table of Contents:
Part 1: Introduction 1. East Asia and the Environment: A Thematic Introduction Part 2: Human Contexts 2. Human Rights and the Environment: Making the Connections 3. Environmental Justice and Civil Society: Case Studies from Southeast Asia 4. Literature and the Environment: Local Approaches to Ecocriticism Part 3: Politics and Policy 5. Environmental Policy in East Asia: Institutions in Comparative Perspective 6. Paradoxes of Democratization: Environmental Politics in East Asia 7. Nongovernmental Organizations and Environmental Protests: Impacts in East Asia 8. Corporations and the Environment in East Asia: Responsibilities and Responses of Businesses Part 4: Air, Land and Water 9. Air Pollution: Inventories, Regional Control and Institutions 10. Seeing through the Smog: China’s Air Pollution Challenge for East Asia 11. Municipal Solid Waste: The Burgeoning Environmental Threat 12. Water Scarcity and Pollution in South and Southeast Asia: Problems and Challenges 13. Dams: Controlling Water but Creating Problems 14. Food and Agriculture: Security, Globalization and Technology Part 5: Fisheries, Forests and Wildlife 15. Fisheries in East Asia: Political, Economic and Security Challenges 16. Coral Reefs: Artisanal Fisheries and Community-based Management 17. Protecting the Marine Environment: Controlling Pollution in the Coral Triangle 18. Governance of Forests: Regional Institutions in East Asia 19. Wildlife Consumption: Cultural and Environmental Values in China and Southeast Asia Part 6: Energy and Climate Change 20. Drivers of Climate Change in East Asia: The Energy Dilemma 21. Vulnerabilities to Climate Change: Adaptation in the Asia-Pacific 22. Impacts of Climate Change: Challenges of Flooding in Coastal East Asia 23. East Asia’s Renewable Energy Strategies: Low-Carbon Developmentalism in the Making 24. Explaining Low Carbon Development in Asia: The Case of China 25. Nuclear Energy in Asia: End of the Renaissance? Part 7: Conclusion 26. Environmental Change in Asian Societies: Lessons Learned and Future Directions

About the Author :
Paul G. Harris is Chair Professor of Global and Environmental Studies at the Education University of Hong Kong. Graeme Lang is a Professor in the Department of Asian and International Studies at the City University of Hong Kong.