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:
Timetable details for 2021 are no longer published.