Global Change and Development: a Synthesis for Southeast Asia

Global environmental change is important for human development. Development depends on ecosystem goods and services. There is already substantial evidence that some key resource systems are being depleted and that the capacity of some pollution sinks is being exceeded as a result of growing and cumulative impacts of human activities. Some of these changes, for example, losses in biodiversity, are irreversible. Consumption and population growth trends suggest that competition for these resources and alternatives will become more intense, challenging human ingenuity, technically and socially. Most resources and sinks systems are also sensitive to changes in climate, atmosphere and biogeochemical cycles. Consequently, global environmental changes will be a major constraint of future human development.