|
The Asia and the Pacific region occupies 23 per cent of the Earth's land
area and is home to more than 58 per cent of its people. The region includes
several of the world's largest emerging economies, such as China and those
of Southeast Asia. Over the past 30 years, the region has gradually moved
from a subsistence lifestyle towards a consumer society, with rapid rates
of urbanization and westernization as well as population increase. This
transition has not been without adverse social and economic, as well as
environmental, impacts.
|
