Poverty And Environmental Issues In Asia And Pacif

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Poverty. Asian economy has grown rapidly during the past decade with GDP growing by over 6% an annual average basis in several countries. (India and China in particular) However, poverty remains a major problem in the region. According to Asian Development Bank (ADP) 1.8 billion people or 54% of Asia’s population living below $2.00 a day and 900 million of them living below $1.25 a day. Recent estimates has shown that extreme poverty was reduced from 49% to 25% in the period from 1990 to 2005. This progress in poverty reduction is largely due to East and North East as well as South East Asia. Number of poor people has declined in the rural areas whereas number of poor in urban areas has increased. (Profit seeking foreign enterprises taking advantage of the cheap labor. Many workers are even attempting suicide after working hard only to be refused payment. Workers who stand up and demand payment from their employers are often met with extreme violence. (Xiong Hanjiang's employer ordered workers to cut Xiong’s wrists and ankles. Authorities did nothing after receiving $460 in bribes.) ) Government did little to reduce urban poverty. Rural poor such as landless laborers are extremely vulnerable to the seasonal nature of agriculture and access to infrastructure.( In Cambodia, Viet Nam and Philippines more than 30% of the rural population live in poverty.) Inequality. Asia’s economic growth has had some impact in poverty reduction but the benefits are not shared equally. Economic growth reduced overall income poverty but it also exacerbated inequalities. Increasing inequality can cause growth to slow down. However, degrees in inequalities are lower compared to those in Latin America and Africa. Economic inequality is more severe in China than anywhere else in the region. Slums. Slum dwellers are often denied legal status in the cities and deprived of a range of
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