Environment- Topics in Asian Studies - Essay Example

The discussion of the articles will provide a picture of how Asia has emerged as a strong player on the international market, as well as its role in the mitigation of pollution in each country. Outlook on Asian Environmental Status: An Anthropological View The current global trend is leaning towards the reduction of greenhouse gases and the alleviation of global warming. Several countries have already invested millions of dollars to develop technologies that will address these issues, mostly first world countries that have highly advanced industries, such as the US, Japan, and some European countries.

However, several developing countries and third-world countries are still at risk of experiencing the adverse effects of pollution; either from land, air, water pollution, or from all of those. To further understand the environmental status of Asian countries, an in-depth look at each country will be discussed, as well as the legislations and government efforts that take place in these countries. One of the many Asian countries that experiences great environmental risks is South Korea. According to Kim Jung-Wk (2004), the stature of the country during the 1960s was focused on a proactive approach of improving the economy by increasing the density of industries, which undermines its traditional strict ethics of preserving the environment.

South Korea was once a country that had high regard for nature. In the past generations, environmental crimes were mostly avoided by people due to the severe punishments that went along with it. Locals were keen on reducing wastes and pollution, certain practices were strictly observed on every possible aspect to minimize the use of natural resources, especially wood. Common practices include the design of houses and its strategic positioning making use of exhaust gas from cooking furnaces to provide heat for rooms, utilizing vegetable gardens and animals to recycle waste foods, and using ash and animal wastes as soil compost.

In addition, government efforts in protecting the environment were strong during the time, considering the management of the mountains and forests as their number one priority (Jung-Wk, 2004). The Japanese invasion has resulted in turmoil in South Korea being the main reason for the destruction of the environment and destabilizing the strong environmental ethics of this once nature-loving nation. In 1910, reports indicate that a huge portion of the forest have already been reduced due to massive logging (Jung-Wk, 2004).

Large shipments of timber were sent to Japan on a regular basis in order to fuel Japan’s war pursuits. Deforestation worsened during the period of the Pacific War which led to the inability of the soil to control flood and drought. This, in turn, resulted in the construction of several large-scale dams all over the country. The effects of deforestation also damaged the river systems and coastal areas. Large deposits of soil in the rivers made it shallow and coasts have been filled with clay deposits, this allowed land reclamation possible that even magnified the negative environment effects.

In addition, the abrupt change in cultivated crops from mixed-culture and crop rotation to rice as well as the excessive addition of fertilizers and pesticides caused the fast degradation of the