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Societys Impact on the Environment in Asia

The worlds population, which is growing at more than 1% a year, is not

distributed equally across the seven continents. The largest percentage of the
worlds more than 7 billion peopleabout 60 percent or 4.2 billioncall Asia
home.

Percentage of World Population by Continent

North America
5.00%
World Population
Oceania
Latin Americ 0.53%
8.56%
Europe
10.70%

Africa Asia
14.82% 60.39%

Source: U.N. Department of Economics and Social Affairs

Asia is also the most densely populated continent, with more than 37 people
per square mile compared to about 20 people per square mile worldwide and
about 9 people per square mile in both North and South America. In addition,
seven of the 10 most-populous countries (and 12 of 15) are in Asia.

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Worlds Ten Most-Populous Countries

1,400,000,000
1,200,000,000
1,000,000,000
800,000,000
600,000,000
400,000,000
200,000,000
0

Source: U.N. Department of Economics and Social Affairs

The enormous populationmore than 4 billion peopleand density of

the people has had a dramatic impact on Asias natural environment. People
have always changed the environment in areas they settle. Originally most
changes were made for survival. People cleared land to create farmland to raise
food. They dammed rivers for water and later for power. They cleared more
land to build shelters, eventually creating villages and then cities. They mined
minerals and other raw materials for industries. More recently they have paved
over open land with roads and highways, shopping centers, factories, power
plants, and urban environments of all types. People continued to impact the
natural environment with these and similar types of activities.

Human interaction with the environment has always come with a price.
This fact can be seen clearly in environmental data about Asia. According to a
2012 World Health Organization (WHO) report, air pollution killed more than 7
million people. The heavily polluted air caused or aggravated illness such as

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heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer.
The main sources of air pollution, especially in populated areas, are vehicle
exhaust, factory emissions, and similar human economic activities that involve
the burning of fossil fuels. WHO ranks air pollution as the most serious
environmental health risk today. According to the WHO report, the countries
that make up Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific had the most air-
pollution related deaths. The chart shows the countries in the region with the
worst air pollution.

Asian Countries with the Worst Air Pollution

World Rank Country

1 Pakistan
2 Qatar
3 Afghanistan
4 Bangladesh
5 Iran
7 Mongolia
8 United Arab Emirates
9 India
10 Bahrain
11 Nepal
13 China
Source: World Health Organization

Not surprisingly, seven of the 10 cities with the worst air pollution are in Asia,
including the national capitals of Beijing, China; New Delhi, India; and
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Air is not the only feature of the natural environment to suffer from
human-caused pollution. The regions freshwater supply has also been severely
polluted. Human waste, sediment from erosion, agricultural runoff, chemicals
from factories, and garbage clog waterways and threaten the health of fish,

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animals, plants, and humans who depend on this freshwater. These Asian
waterways appear on the lists of most-polluted waterways from several
different organizations that monitor water pollution.

Some of Asias Most Polluted Waterways

Waterway Country Cause

Citarum Indonesia Dense population (5 million) along
riverbanks
Buruganga Bangladesh Industrial discharges, human waste,
garbage
Ganges India Dense population, heavy use for daily
and ritual activities, industrial and
agricultural wastes
Huang He (Yellow) China Industrial discharge, especially
chemicals and oil; agricultural runoff
Yamuna India Human waste (5 million gallons a year),
insecticides, sediment from soil erosion
Lake Karachay Russia Dumping of radioactive wastes; source
of radioactive dust that sickened
inhabitants of the region
Lake Chaohu China Agricultural runoff, industrial discharge

Government attempts to clean up the pollution caused by economic and

personal activities have been largely unsuccessful. Governments throughout
Asia have focused on boosting the economy, with many locales developing
primary economic activitiesagriculture, mining, forestry, and fishingthat
abuse the natural environment. In many ways, this factor makes it very difficult
to improve air and water pollution.

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Short Answer

Using the quantitative and qualitative data above, answer the following
questions.

1. In what way have the actions of the people in Asia impacted their
environment?

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2. Identify a way the government could reduce either air or water pollution. Give
specific recommendations and reasons.

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