Sustainable Development and the Environment in Southeast Asia (Elements in Politics and Society in Southeast Asia)

McElwee, Pamela D.

ISBN 10: 1108720536 / ISBN 13: 9781108720533

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2025

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 18404314153

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Sustainable Development and the Environment in Southeast Asia (Elements in Politics and Society in Southeast Asia)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1108720536
• ISBN 13: 9781108720533
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

The rapid economic development experienced by Southeast Asia has come at the cost of considerable environmental degradation, including deforestation and land degradation, biodiversity loss, water and ocean pollution, rising greenhouse gas emissions, and increasing vulnerability to climate change. While sustainable development as a concept recognizes the fundamental importance of nature to future human well-being, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a set of policies falls far short of this ideal. The SDGs, particularly the environmental goals relating to life on land, life under water, and climate action, are essentially impossible to meet in Southeast Asia, as no country is on a sustainability trajectory, but these goals are superficial and modest at best anyway. Alternative approaches that recognize trade-offs and seek to integrate across solutions, that create spaces for inclusion, and which center equity and justice could help meet SDG goals, but face considerable challenges in implementation across Southeast Asia.