The State of the Environment in Asia

I Asia by Theme.- 1 Accelerated Industrialization and Explosive Urbanization.- 1. East Asia at a Critical Juncture.- 2. Review of Economic Growth in East Asia.- 3. Accelerated Industrialization.- 4. Explosive Urban Growth.- 5. Asia Joins the Mass Consumption Society.- 6. Mounting Costs of Pollution and Environmental Problems.- 7. Summation: Qualitative Shift in Economic Growth.- Essay Expanding Use of Nuclear Power and Increasing Risks in Asia.- 2 The Accelerating Car Culture.- 1. Motor Vehicle Pollution in Bangkok.- 2. Motor Vehicles and Urban Air Pollution.- 3. Challenges of Motorization: The Perspective from Japan’s Postwar Experience.- 4. Motor Vehicle Pollution in Asian Countries.- 5. Conclusion: Petroleum Consumption and Global Warming.- Essay The Hazards of Airborne Particulates.- 3 Pollution and Health Damage.- 1. Introduction: Compound and Diverse Pollution.- 2. Pollution Diseases in Developing Asian Countries.- 3. Multiple Pollutant Health Damage: Onsan, South Korea.- 4. Widespread Groundwater Contamination.- 5. Internationalization of Problems: Involvement of Developed Countries.- 6. Invisible Pollution Diseases.- 7. Summation: How Useful Are Japan’s Experiences and Lessons?.- Essay The Original Pollution Disease: Lessons of Minamata Disease.- 4 Conservation and Use of Biodiversity.- 1. Introduction: Biodiversity as an Environmental Issue.- 2. Conservation of Biodiversity in Asia.- 3. Eco-Farming in China.- 4. Wet Rice Aquaculture in Malaysian Rice Paddies.- 5. Summation.- Essay 1 Per Capita Natural Resources in China.- Essay 2 Asia’s Wetlands and Rice Paddies.- II Asia by Country and Region.- 1 Japan.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Brief History of Environmental Problems in Postwar Japan.- 3. Development of Environmental Law and Policy.- 4. Japan’s Environmental Policy: Characteristics and Lessons.- 5. What the Future Holds.- 6. Summation.- Essay 1 A Perspective on International Comparative Analyses of Environmental Problems.- Essay 2 Pollution-Related Health Damage Compensation Law: How the System Works.- 2 Republic of Korea.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Pollution and Environmental Problems in South Korea.- 3. Characteristics and Problems of Environmental Policy.- 4. The Promise of a New Political Milieu.- 5. Summation.- Essay 1 South Korea’s Fee-Based Trash Collection Policy.- Essay 2 'Late-Starter Advantage' in Environmental Problems and Policy.- 3 Kingdom of Thailand.- 1. Introduction: Thailand’s Economic Development and Environmental Problems.- 2. Environmental Costs of Rapid Urbanization and Industrialization.- 3. The Environment in Rural Areas.- 4. Rivers.- 5. Summation.- Essay 1 Thai System for Environmental Protection and Pollution Abatement.- Essay 2 Industrial Parks and Worker Health Damage.- 4 Malaysia.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Environmental Damage from Colonial Times.- 3. Modern Industrialization and Environmental Damage.- 4. Resort and Golf Course Development.- 5. Responses to Environmental Problems.- 6. Summation.- 5 Republic of Indonesia.- 1. Introduction: Indonesia’s Natural Environment and Economy.- 2. Pollution and Remedial Measures.- 3. Forest Loss and Conservation.- 4. The Importance of NGOs in Environmental Policy.- 5. Summation.- Essay 1 Change in the Swidden System.- Essay 2 The Process of Deforestation.- 6 People’s Republic of China.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Overview of China’s Environmental Problems.- 3. The Global Environment and China.- 4. Summation.- Essay 1 Environmental Studies Flourish while the Environment Languishes.- Essay 2 Cutting Waste and Pollution.- Essay 3 Another Look at the Food Crisis Controversy.- 7 Taiwan.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Environmental Problems in Taiwan.- 3. Self-Help and Pollution Disputes.- 4. Summation.- III Indicators.- [1] Basic Economic Indicators: External Debt and International Trade.- [2] Basic Economic Indicators: Official Development Assistance.- [3] Worker Accidents and Occupational Illnesses.- [4] Health and Education.- [5] Trends in Agriculture and Food Producti