South Asia Today Living in South Asia 25'1

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South Asia TodayLiving in South Asia25.1
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Agriculture

• Most people in South Asia make a living by
  farming
• Most practice subsistence farming
• In India, more than 1/3 of farms are lt 1 acre
• It is tradition to divide land equally between
  all of a familys sons

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Agricultural Conditions

• Vast tea and rubber plantations contrast with the
  regions small farms.

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A Variety of Crops

• The major food crop is S.A. is rice
• India is the worlds second-largest producer of
  rice.
• Other major crops are wheat, peanuts, jute,
  cotton, bananas, citrus fruits, and tea.
• Jute-a fiber used to make string and cloth.

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Improved Agricultural Practices

• Agricultural production must rise dramatically if
  the regions people are to be adequately fed.
• Govt. programs train farmers to use modern
  technology and techniques like crop rotation.
• Green revolution- program begun in the 1960s to
  produce higher-yielding , more productive stains
  of wheat, rice, and other food crops.

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Mining and Fishing

• Most of the mining takes place on the
  Indo-Gangetic Plain and in eastern India.
• India produces large amounts of mica, coal, iron
  ore, bauxite, silver, and copper.
• Fishing is an important industry in Sri Lanka and
  Pakistan.
• Important exports are fresh and dried fish,
  lobsters and shrimp.

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Industrial Growth-Light Industry

• Light industry- the production of consumer goods.
• In the past light industry was heavily regulated.
• In 1980, an ease in government regulations led to
  a surge in development.
• India has a large textile industry which produces
  cotton, wool, and silk.
• S.A. has many privately owned small industries
  some people even work out of their homes.
• What is light industry?

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Heavy Industry

• The heavy industries in S.A include mining,
  electric power, and iron and steel manufacturing.
• In 1990 India became a free market economy.
• Under the old economy, India didnt welcome
  foreign investments and required foreign brands
  to have Indianized names.
• Since 1992, however, foreign investments have
  been encouraged and sold under the original names.

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Tourism

• Tourism is very important to the economies in
  S.A.
• Tourists go to Nepal to hunt, photograph
  wildlife, climb or trek in the Himalayas tourism
  is important in exotic Bhutan as well.
• Sri Lanka has many beautiful beaches hotels,
  but violence between Sinhalese and Tamils limits
  tourism.
• What about the Maldives?

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People and their Environment 25.2

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Forests of South Asia

• Trekkers (mountain hikers) and Tourists
  contribute to pollution and the decline of
  firewood, especially in Nepal and Bhutan.
• Why in Nepal and Bhutan?

• Deforestation is a problem for all of South Asia
• Forests are cleared for farmland, pasture,
  logging and fuel

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Forests of South Asia cont.

• The only forests left in Bangladesh are in the
  Chittagong Hills and the Sundarbans, a swampland
  full of mangrove trees along the Bay of Bengal.
• Tops of these trees protect the coast from
  cyclones and tidal waves, when cut down it
  contributes to land slides.

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Forests of South East Asia cont.

• A reforestation program has begun in Sri Lanka
  and the export of timber has been banned.
• In India the Chipko-an environmental movement
  (tree huggers) was started

• To conserve the govt has put limits on timbering
  and is training citizens in forestry.
• Pine trees have been planted on Nepalese
  hillsides to stop erosion.

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• Many different kinds of wildlife live here
  Elephants, water buffalo, and monkeys found in
  Sri Lanka Crocodiles and Bengal tigers found in
  Bangladesh-many of these are endangered.
• Deforestation and development projects, such as
  the construction of dams have contributed to the
  wildlife decline.
• Wildlife reserves have been created and laws have
  been passed to control hunting and development.

Wildlife of South Asia
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Dam Water in South Asia

• The Tarbela Dam of Pakistan is the worlds largest
  earthen dam. It controls flooding and helps with
  irrigation during the dry months.
• The downside to the dam- it contributes to
  wildlife displacement and plant life is
  destroyed.
• These dams can also be a source of a waterborne
  disease, and in places such as India, where water
  is considered sacred, dams can be a spiritual
  interference.

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• The plans to build a huge dam in Indias Narmada
  River basin are controversial.
• The people who support it say that it will
  generate large amounts of electricity and
  irrigate millions of acres of crop land. It will
  also control flooding during the monsoon months.
• The people who oppose it say that there will be
  thousands of tribal people who will be forced out
  of their villages when flooding begins and also
  that dams ruin soil and create health problems.

Water in South Asia Narmada River project