Biodiversity Asia

Asian floral and faunal species are threatened by fragmentation, physical alteration, habitat loss, pollution, introduction of exotic species and overexploitation of ecosystems. About 20 per cent of world's freshwater fish species have become extinct, many of them endemic to Asia. Be it mammals, birds or reptiles, they all suffer a similar fate. In Indonesia, nearly one-fourth of mammals are classified as threatened. Plant species fare no better. In India more than 700 higher plant species are threatened.

The dirty dozens

Industries makes for a substantial contribution to the pollution load in India. They release toxics that are harmful to public health. The Central Pollution Control Board has certain industries categorised as polluting. States across the country harbour these polluting industries, harming the ecology of the region. The iron and steel industry is the worst offender and just seven states account for 70 per cent of toxic industrial pollution.

Till the last drop

Half the watershed area of the world's freshwater systems is estimated to have been lost in the twentieth century, as land was converted to agriculture and urban use, or levelled to combat diseases such as malaria. Physical alteration, habitat loss and degradation, water withdrawal, overexploitation, pollution, all contribute to declines in freshwater systems. Amphibians, fish and wetland-dependent birds are high risk in many region of the world.

The shifting smoke of tobacco

With falling sales, lawsuits and stringent measures in developed countries, tobacco companies have shifted their focus to developing countries. In 1998, tobacco firms spent US $10 billion in advertising outside the US. Today, 80 per cent of the world's smokers live in developing countries. By 2020, one out of three adult deaths worldwide will result from smoking -- more than deaths from malaria, tuberculosis and maternal and childhood illnesses put together.

Vanishing green

It is estimated that around 8,000 years ago, more than six billion hectares (around 40 per cent) of the Earth's surface was covered by forests. Today, the figure has plummeted to a mere 3.6 billion hectares. Every year, at least 14 million hectares are lost. Among the hundreds of species that go extinct every year, an overwhelming majority are found here.

Breathless Asia

Asia has more polluted cities than any other continent. That's what a comparison of 20 leading cities of the world shows. Rapid economic growth spurs the growth of big cities, which in turn bring in more vehicles. While the growth rate of vehicles in most developed countries has stopped or is very low, in nine Asian countries -- India, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore -- it is around 13 per cent.

Death by disease

Lethal infections are killing off populations of creatures ranging from vultures to kangaroos, from coral to honeybees and from amphibians to reptiles. More than pollution, diseases spread by humans are today the biggest threat to a variety of species. For long, ecologists, biologists and governments ignored the threat that emerging diseases pose to natural ecosystems. Conservationists believe that enacting laws will not be enough.

Arctic meltdown

Global warming is threatening the Earth's thermostat. In the past two decades, average annual temperatures have climbed as much as 4C in the Arctic. As a result, sea ice is now 40 per cent thinner and covers 6 per cent less area than in 1980. Excess heat in the tropics is scattered at the poles, about half of it through what is called the ocean conveyor, a vast deepwater current equivalent to 100 Amazon rivers. The rest of the heat is transferred as energy in the storms that move north from the tropics.

On paper

Unless governments force paper companies to invest in cleaner technologies, encourage the manufacture of recycled paper and allow plantations only on lands that are 'degraded', and not currently forested, the paper industry will continue to pollute the environment. The global demand for paper is expected to rise by 31 per cent by 2010.

The road ahead

If vehicular emissions are to come down, governments will have to provide incentives to develop and promote the use of cleaner alternatives. In 1999, global passenger car production reached a record 39 million. The global car fleet now stands at 520 million. More vehicles will result in higher emissions. This is an alarming trend because particulates, especially from diesel engines, have been linked to many diseases, including cancer.