Global Change and Integrated Coastal Management: The Asia-Pacific Region (Coastal Systems and Continental Margins Book 10)

Most of the world’s population lives close to the coast and is highly dependent on coastal resources, which are being exploited at unsustainable rates. These resources are being subject to further pressures associated with population increase and the globalization of coastal resource demand. This is particularly so for the Asia-Pacific region which contains almost two thirds of the world’s population and most of the world’s coastal megacities. The region has globally important atmospheric and oceanic phenomena, which affect world climate such as the Asian Monsoon and the El-Niño Southern Oscillation phenomena. The Asia-Pacific region also has highly significant marine diversity but over the last few decades, coastal resources such as mangroves, coral reefs and fisheries have experienced large-scale depletion. The need to find appropriate management solutions to these and other coastal issues is made more complex by the need to take account of international scientific predictions for global climate change and sea-level rise which will further impact on these coasts. The idea for this book arose from a meeting of coastal scientists in Kobe, Japan in May 2003. The meeting was organized by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN), an inter-governmental network, comprising 21 member countries, for the promotion of global change research and links between science and policy making in the region. Importance of Global Change for Coastal Management in the Asia-Pacific Region....Pages 1-15 State of the Environment in the Asia and Pacific Coastal Zones and Effects of Global Change....Pages 17-38 Coastal Management in The Asia-Pacific Region....Pages 39-66 Catchment–Coast Interactions in the Asia-Pacific Region....Pages 67-92 Coastal Evolution in the Asia-Pacific Region....Pages 93-116 Human Responses To Coastal Change in the Asia-Pacific Region....Pages 117-161 Hot Spots of Population Growth and Urbanisation in the Asia-Pacific Coastal Region....Pages 163-195 Pressures On Rural Coasts in the Asia-Pacific Region....Pages 197-229 Impacts of Pollutants in the Asia-Pacific Region....Pages 231-276 Landscape Variability and the Response of Asian Megadeltas to Environmental Change....Pages 277-314 New Directions for Global Change Research Related to Integrated Coastal Management in the Asia-Pacific Region....Pages 315-334 Arose from a meeting of coastal scientists in Kobe, Japan in May 2003 organized by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN). The book is separated into 2 sections. The first section provides the background and rationale for the book; definitions of the region and the coast; and the state of the coastal environment focussing on current issues such as coastal erosion, sea-level rise, vulnerability of small islands, and pollution. The second and main section consists of 9 chapters which focus on current research findings, address different global coastal issues, and identify and discuss new directions for global change research related to coastal management Focuses on the potential impacts of global change on coastal environments in the Asia-Pacific region. This book addresses methods for tackling these issues such as - integrated coastal management - and the need to recognize the diversity of coastal management practices in the Asia-Pacific region