By: Katelyn Turner Megan McCulloch Jessica Knaack

 South Asia became a large trading partner with Europe, yet South Asia didn’t become as industrialized as Europe right away.  The mountains covered in ice and snow slowly began melting as time went on, but in the 1800’s it started thawing even quicker.  Some people still farmed for a living, or hunted animals in order to survive.  Forests still remained in great condition.  The coal emissions were very low which meant the air quality was a lot cleaner.  Natural disasters were much less prominent.  Streets appeared clean.  Large amount of marine life.

 Industries didn’t have much of an effect on the environment back then as they do today.  Then people made things by hand more than what was produced in factories because then they were just starting to rise. Unlike today how people are much more materialistic and rely on factories to get them what they ‘need’.  The Industries then weren’t powered by coal and oil like they are today, water is what ran the factories which is why they all needed to be built by rivers or any large bodies of water.  The main negative impact that the industries caused was the loss in material such as stone, wood and metal that was needed to make the machinery, buildings and the overall product.  Machinery replaced manual labor.  Fossil fuels replaced wind, water, and wood.  Mountains and ice caps began to melt even more.

 People weren’t aware just how much of a negative the factories would have on the environment.  Because the environment was still pretty stable, there wasn’t much to fix.  Water is a natural resource that is easily replenished so there was no major impact on the environment due to factories back then.  Also the environment wasn’t a main priority to the people, since this was all just beginning, it seemed like a blessing not a curse.  The South Asian’s didn’t even think about the snow and how industries were destroying the ice caps and causing floods and avalanches. With time these became more destructive.

 South Asia’s industries have really taken a toll on the appearance and health of the regions environment.  Walking down the street, you will see many people wearing masks to protect their immune system.  Shores are completely covered with plastic, bottles, cans, paper, food, gum wrappers and just complete trash.  Marine life is dying thanks to all this litter, animals are either consuming or getting caught in these items, killing them.  Industries can be seen from almost anywhere within the South Asian area.  Smoke covers the clouds, while ruining the atmosphere.  Forests are small, and have lost beauty.  Water is becoming more and more polluted.  Sanitation is scarce.  Temperatures increased causing a rapid melting of ice caps in the Himalayas.

 Industries are responsible for producing the amount of litter contaminating the South Asian Seas.  This area of the World has had a significant amount of growth in population. So their need for increased production has added stress to the already declining environmental resources.  South Asia possesses10% of the worlds flora and 6% of the coral reefs, but the problem is the increased amount of natural disaster destroying these important parts of nature. Industries add to this by polluting the air causing global warming contributing to the rise of disasters.  Almost all products are created within this region of the World, which weakens the environment. This is why natural disasters are prone to occur in South Asia.

 The main concerns of the region include:  The amount and quality of water lost.  Dwindling forests and coastal resources.  The wearing down of soil resulting from the nutrients being used faster than they are replenished.  When non salty soil becomes salty, because it is being watered with salty water.  Loss of Biodiversity  Land degradation  Degradation of Air Quality  Natural Disasters  Depletion of Marine Resources  Climate Change  Melting ice caps

 Many projects are beginning in South Asia to help improve the environment such as…  Developing a marine litter activity to assist the environmental protection, management and development of the South Asian Sea regions.  Making a control and prevention plan for air pollution and its effects created by factories in South Asia.  Awareness of Environmental issues such as pollution, deforestation, and marine destruction was spread to the people of South Asia in order to help gather ideas and information to solve the problems.

 Industries could start making all products biodegradable  Factories in South Asia should follow the trend in America by going green. Figuring out new ways to create products.  Using cleaner resources to run the factory and stop the amount of pollution within the air.  Start producing renewable resources that won’t contribute to environmental issues.  Use natural gases within the industry.  The environmentalists in South Asia need to make others aware of just what they are doing to our marine life and coastal areas by being carefree.  Planting more trees to restore the natural forests.  (SACEP) The South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme is the only found contributor helping the environmental issues and we need more people working to solve this crisis.

 South Asia contains around 1/5 of the Worlds total population which means they need more things produced to supply the large quantity of people.  Within the past decade, urbanization and industrialization in South Asia has increased rapidly producing more and more cities and factories.  South Asia contains 14% of the Worlds remaining forests.  70% of South Asians live in rural areas and account for about 75% of the poor

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