The authors explore the fresh water crisis of Himalayan Asia. While the region hosts some of the world's mightiest rivers, it is also home to rapidly modernizing, increasingly affluent, and demographically multiplying societies, ensuring the rapid depletion of water resources and of disputes over ownership of transboundary waters.
This is a pioneering study about the relationship between fresh water, peace, and security in Asia from the Middle East to Siberia but with a special focus on South and Southeast Asia. Asia is home to many of the world's great rivers and lakes, but its huge population and booming economies make it the most water-scarce continent on a per capita basis. Over extensive irrigation, pollution, and global warming add to the demographic and economic pressures on Asia's fresh water supplies. The location of the sources for much of South and Southeast Asia's fresh water is in the Chinese controlled Tibetan Plateau, and China's increasing exploitation of these water sources have created growing geopolitical tensions that could boil over into conflict. India is reliant on fresh water from Tibet, which gives the Chinese uncomfortable leverage over India and further exacerbates their unsettled border disputes. Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and other countries of the region also find themselves in similarly vulnerable positions where water is scarce and the sources are increasingly being exploited and polluted upstream by the continent's most powerful country. Brahma Chellaney proposes strategies to avoid conflict and more equitably share and preserve Asia's water resources.
In the Asia–Pacific region, water resources form the basis of agrarian prosperity and economic development. However, increasing water demand due to population growth, rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, and a changing climate undermine those water resources. Like many parts of the world, Asia–Pacific faces increasing water scarcity, with varying characteristics, causes and trends across a diverse range of countries at different stages of development. Understanding of the spatial and temporal differences in water scarcity across the region is, however, limited, and while policies and management strategies are under development in all countries, their effectiveness varies significantly. Responses to water scarcity are often reacting to acute issues such as drought or conflicts between competing water users; while regional and national level policies exist in most cases, they often lack subsidiary legislation, program development or the resources needed for successful implementation.The main objective of the present study was to develop an understanding of the dynamics of water scarcity across Asia–Pacific and how countries manage that scarcity—ultimately informing more effective management approaches that can be scaled across the region.
Water resources are becoming increasingly scarce in the Asia and Pacific region. By 2050, agriculture will need to produce 100% more food in developing countries. Climate change and rapid population growth will place new pressures on already scarce water resources. Improved irrigation productivity---more crop per drop---and greater financial sustainability are critical. Estimates for the Asian region place a $12.31 billion annual investment required for irrigation between 2005 and 2030. Find out how the Asia and Pacific region is addressing the need to sustainably fund large-scale, publicly owned and managed surface irrigation and drainage systems.
The quiet revolution of mega-farming that is threatening our countryside, farms and food. 'This eye-opening book . . . deserves global recognition' Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall 'Devastating . . . demands reading and deserves the widest possible audience' Joanna Lumley 'He is informed enough to be appalled, and moderate enough to persuade us to take responsibility for the system that feeds us' Guardian: Book of the Week Farm animals have been disappearing from our fields as the production of food has become a global industry. We no longer know for certain what is entering the food chain and what we are eating. We are reaching a tipping point as the farming revolution threatens our countryside, health and the quality of our food wherever we live in the world. From the antibiotics routinely given to industrially farmed animals to the chemicals that are killing our insect populations, Farmageddon is a fascinating and terrifying investigative journey behind the closed doors of a runaway industry across the world – from Europe to the USA, from China to Latin America. It is both a wake-up call to change our current food production and eating practices, and an attempt to find a way to a better farming future.
The rise of Asia's megacities is the upshot of robust economic growth in the region. In turn, the expansion of these centers of industry and commerce is fueling further growth, opening more opportunities for business and employment. With six out of 10 of the world's largest cities in Asia—and eight out of 10 of the most densely populated—the continent will be the world's de facto laboratory for urban planning. Yet urbanization does not mean prosperity for all. A great disparity between the rich and the poor—not just in terms of income but also in living conditions—persists. Asia accounts for some 60% of the world's urban slum residents. Rapid development puts pressure on infrastructure and the delivery of basic services, such as health care, water and sanitation, and energy, particularly for cities with poor urban planning. Investments in public utilities must keep pace with business and population expansion. Otherwise, economic growth cannot be sustained. This edition of Development Asia examines the opportunities and challenges that urbanization presents: how it can drive or disrupt economic growth in Asia. It looks into the case of Viet Nam, one of Asia's economic stars, which is grappling with problems arising from massive urban migration. In The Cruel Utility of Slums, we weigh the economic value of informal settlements against the human toll. To round out coverage, this issue reports on the progress of urban renewal programs that seek to revitalize old cities while preserving their cultural heritage. In other stories, this issue explains the rollout of a form of political risk insurance that covers acts of terrorism. This issue also looks at how development organizations are adapting in a networked world. How well are these organizations using social media? And how are internet scammers posing as development organizations? Finally, this issue puts the spotlight on Thailand's Mr. Condom, Mechai Viravaidya.
Central Asia underwent an agricultural transformation in the 20th century that was neither efficient nor sustainable. There is a need for innovations that will remedy these deficits by reversing environmental degradation and ensuring poverty alleviation. This book provides science-based findings and recommendations for restructuring land and water use and agricultural value chains to enable ecologically and economically sound practices that increase resource use efficiency, rehabilitate ecosystem functions, and enhance rural incomes. Innovations were designed in concert with stakeholders. The prospective benefits are shown for the Khorezm region, part of the lower Amudarya region, Uzbekistan, but the findings can be extrapolated to regions facing similar agro-ecological challenges.
