Importance of Global Change for Coastal Management in the Asia-Pacific Region -- State of the Environment in the Asia and Pacific Coastal Zones and Effects of Global Change -- Coastal Management in The Asia-Pacific Region -- Catchment-Coast Interactions in the Asia-Pacific Region -- Coastal Evolution in the Asia-Pacific Region -- Human Responses To Coastal Change in the Asia-Pacific Region -- Hot Spots of Population Growth and Urbanisation in the Asia-Pacific Coastal Region -- Pressures On Rural Coasts in the Asia-Pacific Region -- Impacts of Pollutants in the Asia-Pacific Region -- Landscape Variability and the Response of Asian Megadeltas to Environmental Change -- New Directions for Global Change Research Related to Integrated Coastal Management in the Asia-Pacific Region.

This book focuses on the potential impacts of global change on coastal environments in the Asia-Pacific region. The region is significant because phenomena such as the Asian Monsoon and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomena, affect the world climate; it has diverse marine and terrestrial ecosystems, including the world largest areas of coral reefs and mangroves; it has almost two-thirds of the world's total human population; and its economic growth rate is the highest of any region in the world. The book identifies important global change issues which will be relevant for the future management of coastal environments in the Asia-Pacific region. The most important of these is global warming and accelerated sea-level rise. The potential impacts from this are compounded by current issues such as unsustainable use of coastal resources; coastal impacts from poor catchment management; population increase and urbanisation pressure; coastal resource and development pressure on rural coasts. The book addresses methods for tackling these issues such as 'integrated coastal management' and the need to recognize the diversity of coastal management practices in the Asia-Pacific region. The book is written by international coastal experts from the region who have identified key directions for future global change research that will be of relevance for coastal management in the Asia-Pacific region.