Environment

Abstract

Asia represents 30% of the world’s land area yet is home to 60% of the world’s population. Even with declining growth rates, Asia still adds approximately 40 million people to the region every year—creating higher demand for an ever-shrinking natural resource base. As natural resource extraction and exploitation intensifies to meet growing demands for food, water, energy, and other essential inputs for economic growth, the underlying ecosystems upon which these environmental services depend become ever weaker. Water, arable land, fish stocks, and other necessities for rural dwellers are becoming increasingly scarce—problems that are significantly exacerbated by droughts, floods, and ecosystem disruptions brought on by a changing climate. There is a growing concern that access to basic natural resources, especially water, are fast becoming national security concerns, and will soon be the basis for conflict both within countries as well as between them.