Why is Urbanization Contributing to Pollution

Southeast Asia is a colourful region — blessed with dumbo rainforest, gorgeous beaches, incredible wild fauna and people that share diverged traditions and cultures. It besides has some remarkable urban centres – stimulated by immense economic growth, derived from trade and tourism. Co-ordinate to a written report by Martin Property Plant, the urban population in Southeast Asia “may abound by another 100 million people, rising from 280 one thousand thousand people today to 373 million people in 2030.”

Though there are various man activities that tin can cause climate changes, urbanisation is the foremost driving factor in this era of modernisation, digitalisation and fast-paced culture. Ensuing government’s efforts in poverty eradication to fulfil their growing needs, a lot of sub-urbanites and rural-ites are moving to the urban territories in search of employment, educational and economic opportunities, or forced movement to flee political or religious conflict crunch.

For example, we have a lot of inter-ASEAN migrants from Myanmar, Indonesia and Philippines migrating to developed nations like Singapore and Malaysia in search for ameliorate opportunities.

“Southeast Asia is going through rapid urbanisation today. Overpopulation in the rural areas has acquired the migrants to be “pushed” from the rural to urban areas (push cistron). Attractiveness of urban areas for jobs and economic opportunities continue to be an important pull cistron. Urban area offering opportunities for socio-economic mobility to move up the prosperity ladder. Cities have always been engines for economic growth,” wrote Senior Fellow of ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, Lee Poh Onn, in an email reply to The Association of southeast asian nations Post.

How urbanisation leads to climate change?

The rural-to-urban migration often results in overcrowding, pollution and poor sanitation – which is dissentious to the environment. The act of pulling people out of poverty and into more developed nations, unfortunately, often comes at the cost of the local environment. Information technology leads to potential environmental consequences if not guided by smart and sustainable policies. If planned poorly, massive urban sprawling can bring near more deforestation, habitat destruction and greenhouse gas (GHG) or carbon emissions. Urbanites also tend to accept college levels of consumption of food and free energy than those living in rural areas, which would naturally put more strain on the usage of natural resources – which would eventually cease to be in supply as information technology is a diminishing resource.

“Urban growth feeds increased commercialisation and industrialisation which will increment the utilize of fossil fuels. An increase in the use of fossil fuels will add to global warming and contribute to climate alter,” said Lee.

In ASEAN, much of its rainforests are destroyed to create more land area to house the growing population in urban cities. The rainforest, existence i the most biologically diverse ecosystems – when destroyed can advance climate changes. With rampant deforestation, we reduce the number of trees. With less copse, we have decreased oxygen supply, decreased rain and increased carbon dioxide in the air. These factors will lead to higher humidity in the region. Equally one leads to the other, this tin increase global warming. According to the ASEAN Biodiversity Outlook report (by Association of southeast asian nations Eye for Biodiversity, Philippines), the biological diversity in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia will be greatly eroded by 2100 if the devastation of the environment persists – where “the region is poised to lose 70–90% of habitats and 13–42% of species in another 83 years”.

The region is also reaching its peak water – the point where we starting time consuming clean water faster than it can be replenished. For instance, the Mekong river which passes through Myanmar, Lao, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam is already heavily inhibited – causing the h2o resources to go scarce. Though Association of southeast asian nations has readily bachelor natural source of water, much of it is polluted or inadequately sanitised. With concerns for water scarcity, we besides face food security equally agriculture volition every bit be affected. Water is the primary catalyst for salubrious and abundant crops, besides other factors similar sunshine, soil and fertilisers.

Examples of natural mishaps across ASEAN nations, derived from climate changes.

Deforestation, pollution and resource degradation are increasing Association of southeast asian nations’south vulnerability to natural and human-induced disasters, derived from climate changes. In view of this matter, ASEAN needs to find solutions to conform to climate change in edifice a resilient Asean.

What is Asean’s stand up in addressing furnishings of climate change?

Association of southeast asian nations through its socio-cultural community initiatives aims to be “a resilient community with enhanced capacity and adequacy to suit and reply to social and economical vulnerabilities, disasters, climate change as well every bit emerging threats and challenges” by year 2025.

Through the Declaration on Institutionalising the Resilience of Association of southeast asian nations and its Communities and Peoples to Disasters and Climatic change adopted during the 26th ASEAN Elevation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on April 27, 2015, the ASEAN leaders committed “to forge a more resilient future by reducing existing disaster and climate-related risks, preventing the generation of new risks and adapting to a changing climate through the implementation of economic, social, cultural, physical, and environmental measures which address exposure and vulnerability, and thus strengthen resilience.”

Post-obit the growing concern for climatic change furnishings, the ASEAN and European Matrimony (EU) reiterated their commitment to cooperate in addressing the shared challenge of dealing with climate changes in their respective economical communities at the 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting early on August. The reiteration besides marked the welcoming of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Alter (UNFCCC) work and the 2016 Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement is a global bargain aimed at limiting the negative bear on of climate modify – which will include reducing GHG emission. Every bit office of their efforts in battling confronting climate changes, the partnership will look into “eradicating poverty in order to go along a global average temperature rise to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C to a higher place pre-industrial levels”.

ASEAN has thought information technology all out on paper through its aims and strategies, but how well is all these being implemented or fifty-fifty monitored to our all-time interest?

ASEAN must work on its environmental sustainability

Effects of climate changes are omnipresent in the region – highlighting its presence even more than in the past decade. Although many environmental agreements have been reached, environmental bug continue to threaten to human security because we evidently lack of proper implementation. Without a monitored implementation, we will be in the night as to where we stand in terms of sustainability, or what works and doesn’t work in conserving the assets of Asean.

Entailed from ongoing environmental damage, the touch on of regional security in ASEAN is concerning. While Southeast Asian nations encourage political actions in favour of economic growth, they struggle to promote sustainable development approaches. Governments claim to work on a balanced approach that compromises both sectors. However, the painful reality of the situation reveals that governments tend to act in inconsistent manners in their conceptions of sustainable economies.

Accoding to Lee, the effects of climate change caused by urbanisation tin can be addressed by “promoting the utilize of dark-green technologies, improving efficiency in using fossil fuels, reducing traffic congestion and encouraging the use of public transport by improving route and public infrastructure. GHG emissions are likely to be 60 percent higher in Southeast Asia in 2050 compared to 2010.”

The biggest asset Asean has is its lush greeneries and wealth of its natural resources. All these goodness that Association of southeast asian nations has to offer to the residuum of the world must non be annihilated by climate modify effects – acquired by homo-induced disasters in proper name of urbanisation and development.

Homo and nature must co-be. One without the other is meaningless. At that place’s no two ways nigh information technology. ASEAN must intensify their efforts in preserving its nature, investing especially in environmental sustainability to ensure that its’ states continue to be an attractive destination for trade and tourism activities. To sustain Asean’due south economical progress over the next 50 years, its leaders must commit to focusing on climate modify. The absence of a proper nature protection and the effects of climate changes can exist detrimental to the livelihood of mankind in this region.