The Changing Geography Of Asia

THE CHANGING GEOGRAPHY OF ASIA The region conventionally called Asia contains the greatest diversity of physical environments of any of the continents; it contains the greatest diversity of culture and of levels of development, ranging from the grinding poverty of densely settled Bangladesh to the wealth and dazzling technology of Japan. It contains the two most populous states on earth, India and China, the tiny states of Singapore and the Maldives, and the cold emptiness of Siberia where ‘development’ has a special meaning. Japan has the world’s most acute problem of an ageing population and declining birth-rate, whilst Bangladesh has almost the complete opposite. It is no longer possible simply to write a static geography of this Asia: it is important above all to recognise and understand the ceaseless patterns of change. The first chapter of this book outlines in broad terms the view of Asia prevalent in the literature in the mid-1960s. It stresses that this view was as much a product of the way in which knowledge had been accumulated on limited topics in the colonial period as of any ‘objective’ assessment of Asia. In the following chapters experts at, or associated with, the Department of Geography of the School of Oriental and African Studies examine for their specialist region how the situation has changed in the last 25 years, and how our understanding and foci of enquiry have changed. They highlight the shifts in demography and levels of development, and in the political structures that frame policy. They highlight too not only what we know about change induced in the environment and the success and failures in handling these problems, but they also point to those areas of ignorance about which we simply do not know enough. The final chapter summarizes these changes and our perception of them and their significance. Graham P.Chapman and Kathleen M.Baker are, repectively, Professor and Lecturer in the Department of Geography, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. THE CHANGING GEOGRAPHY OF ASIA Edited by Graham P.Chapman and Kathleen M.Baker FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AT SOAS London and New York First published 1992 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1992 Graham P.Chapman and Kathleen M.Baker All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Librar y Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN 0-415-05707-8 (hbk) ISBN 0-415-05708-6 (pbk) ISBN 0-203-03862-2 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-20218-X (Glassbook Format) CONTENTS Figures Tables Contributors Prefa