Managing Asia's environmental crisis: EQM opportunities for remediation and technology transfer

Abstract

AbstractConditions of environmental pollution and degradation in Asia are among the worst in the world. Rapid economic growth and industrialization over the past half century have accelerated the pollution of air, water, and land resources in a region with the world's largest concentration of population. As the economics of Asia recover from financial crisis in the late 1990s, they will face a more serious environmental crisis in the early years of the 21st century. Remediation of soil and water contamination will become a stronger concern in the region, as the human health impacts become more visible and widespread. Although environmental remediation is only beginning to emerge in Asia as a solution to problems of natural resource degradation, the authors show how U.S. firms with experience in quality environmental management and biological remediation technologies will find new opportunities for exports and technology transfer. Environmental technology and services firms interested in Asia must understand both the opportunities for and barriers to operating in Asia.