Major Environmental Concerns  

[ Land | Forest | Biodiversity | Water | Marine & Coastal Environments | Urban & Industrial Environments ]

Underlying Causes

[ Social | Economic | Institutional | Environmental ]

The root causes of different environmental problems vary considerably in Asia and the Pacific. Much of the increasing severity of problems is driven by the demographic situation, although other aspects of the human condition-such as cultural, social, and economic status; traditional and acquired technologies; institutional and legal systems; and changing consumption patterns-have all played a significant role. Although high economic growth is being achieved in many countries in the region, poverty is still a problem at the root of several environmental problems. Impacts on the environment caused by the developed and the newly industrialized countries in the region, as well as the unsustainable use of natural resources by those countries (and other developed countries outside the region), have also been considerable (NEPA, personal communication, 1996).

United Nations Environment Programme