http://matadornetwork.com/change/6-environmental-challenges-facing-southeast/
- urbanization of the area has caused deforestation
- increased industry; contributing to the air pollution
- deforestation has contributed to the increase in air population
- endangered species on the rise due to factors such as deforestation and poaching:
1. Asian elephants - ivory poaching, habitat destruction,
2. Sumatran tiger
3. the orangutan
- Some estimate that over 40% of all plant and animal species in Southeast Asia could go extinct during the 21st century
- prone to relatively frequent "hazes,"; result of widespread fires
- The 2013 haze — mostly originating from fires in Indonesia — caused problems in Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia
- coral reef destruction (Coral Triangle: waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Solomon Islands)
1. ocean absorbs about a quarter of all the carbon dioxide we put into the atmosphere each year; helps reduce the effects of global warming temporarily, more of that carbon is going to be converted into carbonic acid, increasing the ocean's acidity level over time. This acidification fundamentally weakens coral reefs, making them more prone to disease, and less likely to recover from disturbances
2. overfishing
- taking out many important fish species
- methods of fishing damage coral reefs:
i. Blast fishing (the use of dynamite)
ii. Cyanide fishing (the use if cyanide to stun fish and capture for aquariums)
3. dive tourism; interferes with the ecosystem in a way that can damage it — walking on the reefs or taking specimens home for themselves
Possible solutions:
- Support wildlife reserves through funding
- Create stricter laws for illegal fishing and poaching
- Set rules for foreign divers
1. No walking on the reef
2. Do not take anything from the environment; do not touch anything
