World Regions in Global Context: Southeast Asia

Discussion Prompt
For this discussion, you will consider global interconnections, environmental change and uneven development. Make sure to use specific examples from the course materials throughout your response. Make sure to cite all of your sources. Since there are several sub-questions, make sure to be especially concise. For this discussion assignment, we ask you to select an example of environmental problem that is discussed from in textbook Chapter 10. Before deciding upon your example, please read through all of the questions in this prompt to make sure that the example you decide on will allow you to sufficiently answer the questions. You may do some additional outside research to bolster your response, but the example must be from the textbook.
CAUSES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS: Think about both i) the Mekong River case study and movie AND ii) the example you are using from the textbook. What are the causes of these problems? In what ways are the causes of the problems similar or different?
[Questions to get you thinking: Are the problems the result of local resource use? Of global resource demand? What is the history that led to these problems? Does everyone consider these to be “problems”? Who does, who doesn’t, and why?]
MARGINALIZED POPULATIONS: Environmental problems are also human problems. Marginalized peoples, including minority and indigenous populations, are often affected by such problems. Who are some of the marginalized peoples in SE Asia that are discussed in the course materials? In what ways are they marginalized (i.e. what are the historical, geographical and/or environmental reasons that they can be considered marginalized)? Please discuss at least two different groups.
POWER AND ENVIRONMENTAL BURDENS/BENEFITS: Think about the environmental problems and the marginal groups you identified in Parts 1 & 2. In these examples, do you see any connection between the marginality of the groups and region’s environmental problems?
Questions to get you thinking: Does a group’s marginality impede its ability to protest or effectively fight to solve the environmental problem? Are environmental problems affecting marginalized groups the same way they affect other groups? How economically and/or politically powerful is the group? How does that power matter when you consider the environmental problem? It is more important to explain a few examples clearly and thoroughly than to include many different examples. Note that answering this question will likely require you to independently make connections between different sources.]

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