INTR3100 Environment and Development in Asia

The focus will be on Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, also China and Japan, and India. Topics covered in lectures include the World Bank, issues of economic growth versus sustainable development, women and the environment, causes and impacts of air and water pollution, deforestation, large dams, and environmental impacts of tourism. It will probe Government policies to tackle each of these issues and why they are so difficult to implement, as well as popular protest over environmental issues, and human rights and the environment. A discussion of Buddhist perspectives on the environment (particularly deforestation in Thailand) will enable us to understand how the environment is affected (and protected) by Asian belief systems.

This topic aims to:

• Familiarise students with different discourses used in discussion of the environment
• Introduce knowledge of the current state of the environment in countries of Asia and the causes of the environmental crises now facing them
• Explain what governments, NGOs (Non Government Organisations) and local communities in the region are doing in response to these problems, and the obstacles they face

1. Demonstrate knowledge about major environmental issues facing countries in the Asian region
2. Analyse the causes of environmental problems, and discuss the impacts of development on the environment in countries of the Asian region
3. Discuss how governments and NGO's have tried to solve environmental problems and to critically evaluate these policies and their impacts, particularly on the poor in the region