GEO-6 Regional Assessment for Asia and the Pacific


droughts and storms could lead to deteriorating standards of sanitation and hygiene (Nurse et al. 2014).


2.5.5 Impacts Environmental impacts


Increased coastal population growth and development have serious and negative environmental impacts on the coasts and oceans of Asia and the Pacific and these are likely to be exacerbated by climate change and coastal hazards. Climate change may lead to a massive redistribution of fisheries catch potential with large increases in high-latitude regions, including Asian Russia, and large declines in the tropics, particularly Indonesia (Hijioka et al. 2014).


Widespread damage to coral reefs correlated with episodes of high sea-surface temperature has been reported in recent decades. Continuation of current trends in sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification would result in large declines in coral-dominated reefs by mid-century (Hijioka et al. 2014). The degree of impact will depend on the coral reefs’ adaptability to thermal stress and the interaction of multiple drivers (Pörtner et al. 2014). The Great Barrier Reef is highly vulnerable to both warming and acidification with increased frequency and severity of coral bleaching, disease incidence and mortality (Reisinger et al. 2014).


Impacts on livelihoods


Livelihoods can be impacted negatively by natural disasters, economic crises and climate change. In coastal areas highly exposed to cyclones and typhoons, the poor tend to be more exposed to natural disasters because they live on hazardous land. As the population of the Asia and the Pacific region increases, more people are living in coastal areas and cities, especially in the mega-cities that have more than 10 million inhabitants (UNESCAP 2013). Evidence suggests that climate change, climate variability and sea-level rise will exacerbate multi-dimensional poverty in most developing countries. By


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2050 storm surge zones, with a combined total of more than 58 million people at risk, are expected in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines (Olsson et al. 2014).


The people more likely to be affected are those with livelihoods dependent on the coast (agriculture, fishing and tourism) as they are unable or unwilling to move inland. The small island developing states, with their high proportion of productive capital located on the coast, are particularly at risk (CRED 2015).


2.6 Waste


2.6.1 Introduction The Asia and the Pacific region is facing serious waste management issues. There have been various initiatives, however, for promoting integrated solid waste management across the region.


With rapid population increase, economic growth, industrialization and urbanization, waste generation in Asia and the Pacific is increasing. It is facing various issues including poor waste separation, low collection rates, unsafe informal recycling practices and uncontrolled disposal (UNEP and ISWA 2015; Pariatamby and Tanaka 2014). These issues are common in developing countries and particularly critical for small island developing states due to their limited land capacity and fragile ecosystems. Besides that, the lack of a common definition of waste for all countries, a coherent and systematic database and a good national reporting system on waste management are also big issues in the region.


There have been various initiatives across the region since the end of the 1990s to promote concepts such as integrated solid waste management, cleaner production, the 3Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle, zero waste; the sound material- cycle society, and the circular economy. Japan launched its 3R Initiative in 2004 and, together with the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), established the


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