Suchergebnisse

1. Harris, Paul G.: International environmental cooperation in Pacific Asia. Introduction. 2. Elliott, Lorraine: Environmental security in East Asia. Defining a common agenda. 3. Harris, Paul G.: Environmental security, international cooperation, and U.S. foreign policy toward Northeast Asia. 4. Barkenbus, Jack N.: Reconciling trade and environment in East Asia. 5. Boas, Morten: The Asian Development Bank and environmental diplomacy. Limits to the technocratic consensus. 6. Ooi Giok Ling ; Tay, Simon S. C. ; Kog Yue Choong: Environmental agreements in Southeast Asia. Balancing economic interests and regional politics. 7. Brown, Donald A.: Emerging norms of international justice. Global warming and China's changing environment. 8. Nam Sangmin: Ecological interdependence and environmental governance in Northeast Asia. Politics versus cooperation. 9. Lee Shin-wha: Building environmental regimes in Northeast Asia. Progress, limitations, and policy options. 10. Takahashi, Wakana: Problems of environmental cooperation in Northeast Asia. The case of acid rain. 11. Toward a greener peace? Nuclear reprocessing, security, and international cooperation in East Asia. / Stephanie Tai ... 12. Naess, Tom: Politics of the South China Sea. Diplomacy, cooperation, and environmental regimes. 13. Springer, Allen L.: Indonesian forest fires. Internationalizing a national environmental problem

The Central Asian republics are rich in energy resources: three of them (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan) can boast of oil and gas deposits, while the other two (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) have vast hydropower potential. This means that harmonized energy policy designed to meet their demands in energy, energy exports, and stronger positions in ensuring international energy security makes sense. By the same token, these countries can, potentially, develop metallurgy, machine building, and light industry as their industrial priorities. In fact, deeper integration in these fields will add efficiency to their efforts to fully tap the region's industrial potential. Integration in the agricultural sector with a view to developing, some time in the future, the common agrarian market is another local priority. Transport is the field in which integration is even more welcome: the region's transit potential will expand the trade and economic ties among the local states and revive the Great Silk Road. The present level of mutual trade has not yet reached the highest possible level of economic cooperation: the share of its Central Asian neighbors in Kazakhstan's trade turnover is about 0.6 percent (in 2006, Kyrgyzstan's share in Kazakhstan's trade turnover was a meager 0.7 percent; Tajikistan's share, 0.3 percent; Uzbekistan's, 1.1 percent, and Turkmenistan's, 0.2 percent). This means that deeper regional integration has become a priority and a factor of the local countries' faster economic growth, higher living standards, and stability. An analysis of the local states' social and economic development revealed that all of them have finally achieved positive rates of economic growth. In 2006, the average GDP growth rate of four of them (Turkmenistan is excluded) was 6.9 percent, while the growth rate of industrial production amounted to 3 percent. At the same time, the level of economic development and market transformations differs from country to country. In Uzbekistan, for example, the state has a great role to play in economic management, which should be changed to create a favorable investment climate. In Kyrgyzstan, the fairly complicated local politics and strife among the local political groups pushes the economy and the standard of living into the background. The investment climate cannot be described as inviting. Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are the region's poorest states. Tajikistan is burdened with enormous foreign debt; its inefficient economy cannot cope with the social problems and ensure economic growth. In Turkmenistan, the political system set up by late President Niyazov hampers democratic and market development in the country. Kazakhstan, on the other hand, has surged ahead in its socioeconomic development, even though the country still relies on its raw-material sector and still has problems in the agrarian sphere. It remains under-funded, unable to rationally spend the budget money allocated to it and to master new technologies. The countryside and agricultural production are still in a sad state. The processing sector remains uncompetitive.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Tables, Figures, and Box -- Foreword -- Abbreviations -- Weights and Measures -- Executive Summary -- 1 Introduction -- 2 SASEC Strategic Objectives and Operational Priorities -- 3 Overview of World Maritime Trade -- 3.1 World Trade Carried by Sea -- 3.2 World Container Trade -- 3.3 Major Container Operators -- 3.4 Container Ports -- 3.5 Connectivity -- 4 Overview of the SASEC Maritime Environment -- 4.1 Profile of SASEC Trade -- 4.2 SASEC Ports -- 4.3 SASEC Liner Connectivity -- 4.4 SASEC Cruise Liner Sector -- 5 Institutional Framework in the SASEC Maritime Sector -- 5.1 Bangladesh -- 5.2 India -- 5.3 Maldives -- 5.4 Myanmar -- 5.5 Sri Lanka -- 6 Current and Future Issues in the SASEC Maritime Sector -- 6.1 Supply-Shipping Lines -- 6.2 SASEC Port Performance -- 6.3 Port Interfaces -- 6.4 Information and Communication Technology Developments -- 6.5 Development of Port-Based Economic Complexes -- 6.6 Impact of the Cruise Sector on Freight Handling -- 6.7 Indication of Possible SASEC Port Development Priorities -- 7 Scope for SASEC Initiatives in the Maritime Sector -- 7.1 Information and Communication Technology and Port Community System -- 7.2 Legal and Regulatory Issues -- 7.3 Development of External Logistics Infrastructure -- 7.4 Environmental Issues-"Green Ports" -- 7.5 Development of the Cruise Sector -- References.

With three-quarters of Asia-Pacific countries currently facing water scarcity and the vast majority of the region's river basins categorised as transboundary, water managers in the region need to manage water resources in a cooperative manner that promotes sustainable development. Numerous macro trends in the region make this challenging: rapid urbanisation and economic growth, and increased demand for energy and food along with the impacts of climate change. In Europe, the Danube River Basin also faces challenges to water quality and quantity. As Europe has developed a strategy to increase the river basin's water quality and quantity, best practices and lessons learned regarding integrated water resources management in the Danube River Basin can be transferred to the Asia-Pacific region.

ECONOMIC INTEGRATION, IF IT IS TO BE A REALITY IN ASIA, HAS TO COME BY CONSCIOUS POLITICAL DECISIONS AND ACTIONS, AFFIRMING THE PRIMACY OF POLITICS OVER ECONOMICS. SINCE THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM HAS BEEN ONE OF THE TWO OR THREE CRUCIAL HURDLES FOR REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN ASIA, IT IS NECESSARY TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM.