GEO-6 Regional Assessment for Asia and the Pacific
population had access to drinking water; while only 59 per cent had access to sanitation (UNESCAP 2014; WHO and UNICEF 2014).
Access to energy is lagging in rural areas
Rural populations in many countries still do not have access to basic energy services, “at least 620 million people lack access to electricity in the region and almost 1.9 billion people still rely on biomass for cooking” (IEA 2014). The use of biomass is a significant environmental and health concern due to the amount of air pollution it produces when burned indoors, “more than 1 million premature deaths annually in India and China can be attributed to exposure to household air pollution” (UNESCAP 2014; WHO and UNICEF 2014). “Biofuels are produced mainly by China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand; while the coal production of China and India accounts for more than half of the global output. However, the use of both commodities poses issues of water stress because their production processes are water-intensive, and the production of biofuels increases the demand for arable land, thus leading to deforestation” (WWAP 2014).
1.2 Increasing use of natural resources and declining resource productivity
1.2.1 Resource efficiency plays an important role for sustainable development in the region
Resource efficiency means using natural resources in a sustainable manner and minimizing impacts on the environment. Resource efficiency promotes production using fewer natural resources. From a life cycle and value chain perspective, resource efficiency also means reducing the total environmental impact of the consumption and production of goods and services, from raw material extraction to final use and disposal (UNEP 2010).
Over the past 45 years (1970–2015) the Asia and the Pacific region has experienced rapid economic growth, leading to higher incomes, poverty reduction and the emergence of a rapidly-expanding middle class. Consumption behaviour has changed and domestic consumption has started to increase alongside export industry growth.
Key Messages
Consumption of natural resources has been growing rapidly in Asia and the Pacific leading to increasing pressures and impacts on the local environment. Resource efficiency is improving in many countries but not in the region as a whole because of a shift in economic activity from resource-efficient to less resource-efficient countries.
• The region’s material consumption has increased sharply over the past four decades, accounting for more than 50 per cent of world consumption while material productivity has not improved and is double the world average.
• Energy provision continues to rely on fossil fuels and the share of renewable energy remains small despite very significant investment in renewable-energy infrastructure.
• The region accounts for more than 50 per cent of the world’s water use, and although water intensity has decreased sharply, it is still very high - more than double of the world average.
Decoupling economic growth from resource consumption has been achieved in some countries but not the region as a whole. To meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Asia and the Pacific will need to greatly improve resource efficiency and enabling policies will be required to facilitate sustainable consumption and production.
14
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227
