GEO-6 Regional Assessment for Asia and the Pacific


landfills and the management of industrial hazardous waste have become major concerns (Pariatamby and Tanaka 2013). With the development of large manufacturing zones, the requirement for land for industrial units and associated infrastructure has also increased significantly. Often the expansion is being met by clearing forests or fallow lands in the outer zones of cities. Indeed, the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and National Manufacturing Zones (NMZ) in several developing countries convert agricultural or forest lands. Land acquisition, sometimes on a large scale and with poor governance, is a growing phenomenon in the region.


Smaller cities, with fewer than 500 000 people, represent just over half the urban population (54.4 per cent) in Asia and the Pacific (UNDESA 2014). As a result, the proportion of land occupied by human settlements in urban areas is 2–3 per cent of the total land area in the region (Collins 2011) with consequences in terms of an increase in mean surface temperatures, soil pollution, deforestation and associated land-use changes including decline in agriculture land. With rapid urbanization and growing consumerism, the region generated 870 million tonnes of municipal solid waste in 2014 (Section 2.6), much of which goes into landfills that occupy a significant amount of land.


Climatic variability and change


Projected climate change in Asia and the Pacific could lead to a shortage of water resources, widespread land degradation and increased desertification. Impacts of climate change in the Asia and the Pacific region include changes in natural vegetation types and associated changes in ecosystems at higher elevations and latitudes (Mendelsohn 2011). Shang and Long (2005) listed climate change-induced glacial retreat among direct causes of grassland degradation, in particular an increase in erosion in high-elevation areas, Kobresia- dominated meadows of Tibet, China. Although retreating glaciers will have impacts on hydrology, particularly for downstream water users, it is unclear how the loss of glaciers will affect rangeland conditions. In addition, climate change


could cause migration of coastal populations to inland areas, putting pressure on land resources there. In the Pacific islands, emigration could put pressure on land resources in other countries (Wyett 2014).


Overgrazing


Rangelands in Asia and the Pacific include China, India, Mongolia and parts of Australia spanning arid and semi-arid shrublands in southern and western Australia to tropical open woodlands in northern Australia (Smith et al. 2007). Development of infrastructure – roads, railways, pipelines and irrigation canals – disrupts movement patterns of livestock and wildlife and exacerbates the fragmentation of habitats. Increased transport facilities have opened new areas to livestock grazing, encroaching on undisturbed refuges in northern Tibet, China. The past century of grazing by sheep and cattle has brought about changes in environments, social systems and policies, spread across a vast geographical area.


Mining


Mining has been increasing in Asia and the Pacific (USGS 2012) with environmental consequences including degradation of land resources – Australia and China are among the world’s leading mineral producers (Fong-Sum et al. 2014). Australia has large reserves of bauxite, coal, cobalt, copper, diamonds, gold, iron ore, lead, lithium, manganese, mineral sands, tantalum and uranium. China has large reserves including antimony, arsenic, barite, bauxite, coal, fluorite, gold, graphite, iron ore, magnesium, rare earths, strontium, tin, tungsten and zinc. India is also one of the world’s significant mineral producers, with large reserves of barite, bauxite, chromium, iron ore, manganese, rare earths and salt. With growing demand for minerals, metals and energy resources, mining is projected to increase with severe environmental consequences for land resources (SNL 2015).


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