Description

This important book gives an overview of the state-of-the-art understanding on the drivers, state, and responses to the coastal environmental changes in the Asia and Pacific region. The region is home to the world's largest concentration of coral reefs and mangroves. It accommodates fully two-thirds of the world's human population and its economic activities have the highest growth rate in the world. This book provides important perspectives on what is and will be going on in the region's coastal zones. The Asia-Pacific also forms part of the Pacific's so-called 'Rim of Fire' and is, therefore, vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis. Threats of global environmental change such as climate change and sea-level rise will superpose on such problems. It is thus vital that appropriate policies and measures are needed for coastal management in the region, in the context of both local and global trends. This book is a highly important addition to the debate.