South Asia: Chapter 10

1
South Asia Chapter 10

• Section 2 Looking to the Future

2
Lesson Questions

• What environmental issues are affecting South
  Asia?
• How does rapid population growth affect South
  Asia?
• What are some results of urbanization in South
  Asia?

3
Environmental Issues

• Indian folk poet Ghahshyam Shilani, inspired
  the Chipko or Hug-the-tree movement
• Chipko, founded in 1972, wanted to raise
  awareness for environmental conservation
• In South Asia, as elsewhere, some people are
  concerned about the effects of modernization
• the Indian government wants to develop resources
  and improve the standard of living
• Industrialization and modernization leads to
  positive and negative effects

4
Protecting the Environment
5
Narmada Valley Project

• NVP has upset environmentalists
• the Narmada river flows through central India,
  and the NVP calls for 30 major dams to be built
  and 3000 minor dams as well
• Proponents argue that the project will provide
  water to irrigate millions of farm land
• the dams will also provide hydroelectricity

6
Narmada Valley cont.

• Critics argue that the NVP will result in more
  harm than good
• Opponents argue that the dams will flood
  farmland, destroy wildlife, and displace up to
  250,000 people
• the protests have slowed work on the dams and has
  led the World Bank to withdraw support
• despite these setbacks the project continues
• Construction of the dam is now halted at 110.6
  meters, lower than the 130 meters that the dam is
  eventually supposed to reach.
• entire project is meant to be finished by 2025

7
The Water Shortage
8
Accident at Bhopal and other Environmental Issues

• 1984 in Bhopal, India an American owned chemical
  plant leaked into the atmosphere, killing roughly
  2000 people and leaving lasting illnesses
• Limestone quarries have also been protested
  because they destroy the forests, damage
  farmlands, and worsen water shortages
• Nuclear power plants are also a problem
• deforestation, and pollution by chemical
  insecticides and fertilizers are also a problem

9
Bhopal
10
Positive Effects of Mining
11
Crisis in numbers

• Overpopulation has caused sprawling urbanization
• Population increase has caused a strain on
  resources such as land, water, and building
  materials
• In 2000, approximately 1.4 billion lived in South
  Asia
• India is predicted to have a higher population
  than China
• Since 1947, India has doubled
• the region increases by roughly 26 million people
  per year

12
Cause and effects

• increase in medical care have caused the
  population to rise
• infant mortality is down and so is the occurrence
  of disease such as cholera, malaria, and smallpox
• ¼ of the population is under age 15 and they lack
  the resources to feed, cloth, and educate
• traditional values affect the size of the family
• in the city and on large farms, families are
  usually smaller
• large landowners do not want to split up their
  land with many children
• poorer farmers tend to believe that more children
  will provide more labor
• in traditional families, boys are valued more
  than girls and sometimes parents keep trying to
  have a boy regardless if they have several
  daughters already