Abstract

Asia is too vast and complex a continent to be portrayed on a single canvass or under a single label. Most of these countries are changing at a pace that is difficult for outsiders to imagine and possibly harder for residents to cope with. The vastness of China, Central and South Asia contrast with the density of South East Asia, home to a quarter of the Planet biodiversity for only 5% of the land surface. Challenges to the health of aquatic systems are, as elsewhere, linked to the internal forces of demography, industrialization, corruption, irrational exploitation of primary resources, pollution, social injustice, poverty, lack of education and to multi-nationals and other foreign influences. The Gharial mass-mortality in the Chambal sanctuary in India, the high-value fish trade and the impact it has on coral reef ecology and marine resources and other examples demonstrate trends, challenges and remedies.