5 June: |
TOXIC
FREE ASIA TOUR
The Homepage of the SV Rainbow Warrior Tour in Asia |
The Greenpeace
Toxic
Free Asia tour during 1999/2000 exposed pollution hotspots and promoted
alternatives and solutions in Asia to create a toxic free future. See
the map at the bottom of this page or click here for the recent
updates.
Rapid industrialisation and growth has made Asia, particularly East
and Southeast Asia, one of the most dynamic regions in the world. But
the so-called "economic success" of the region has come at the expense
of severe environmental damage.
Pollution, particularly in urban and industrial areas has reached alarming proportions. A lack of adequate environmental controls and the blind promotion of "growth at all cost" has resulted in higher concentrations of toxic chemicals in various Asian ecological systems - and there is no sign that this trend will change for the better.
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In
fact, toxic emissions in the region are expected to increase as pollution
intensive industries, like petrochemical plants, cement manufacturing,
mining, pulp and paper, smelting and shipbreaking appear throughout
the region. Because of its lax environmental and worker safety standards,
Asia is seen as a pollution haven by multinational companies seeking
new markets for their environmentally destructive technologies and process,
now discredited in the industrialised world.
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