8.5 Geographic Insights: South Asia Review and Self-Test

• 1. Climate Change and Water: Climate change puts more lives at risk in South Asia than in any other region in the world, primarily due to water-related impacts. Sea level rise, droughts, floods, and the increased severity of storms imperil many urban and agricultural areas over the short term. Over the longer term, glacial melting threatens rivers and aquifers.

  • Question

    Why is the issue of melting glaciers in the Himalayas so important in this region? Compare the short- and long-term effects of this change.

  • Question

    What additional threats do coastal areas of South Asia face?
• 2. Gender and Population: The assumptions that males are more useful to families than females and that females must be supplied with a dowry have resulted in a devaluation of females, leading to a gender imbalance in populations across South Asia. Those who can afford in utero gender-identifying technology may abort female fetuses, while those with fewer resources sometimes commit female infanticide. As a result, adult males significantly outnumber adult females. A second relationship between gender and population is that when females are given opportunities to work outside the home, they tend to choose to have fewer children.

  • Question

    What has created the strong preference for sons among many South Asian families? Where in South Asia is the preference for sons the weakest?

  • Question

    What is the link between fertility and education for women of South Asia?
• 3. Food and Urbanization: Due to changes in food production systems in South Asia, food supplies and incomes of wealthy farmers have increased. Meanwhile, impoverished agricultural workers, displaced by new agricultural technology, have been forced to seek employment in cities, where they often end up living in crowded, unsanitary conditions and must purchase food.

  • Question

    What has been the impact on food production of the introduction of new seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and equipment in South Asia? How has this shift resulted in the growth of cities?

  • Question

    What kind of jobs and housing do people in South Asia usually find in urban areas?
• 4. Globalization and Development: Globalization benefits populations unevenly. Educated and skilled South Asian workers with jobs in export-connected and technology-based industries and services enjoy better lives. Low-skilled workers, however, in both urban and rural areas, are left with demanding but very low-paying jobs.

  • Question

    What kinds of workers in South Asia have gained from the recent boom in foreign investment? What about South Asian workers is especially attractive to foreign investors in high-tech industries?

  • Question

    How are jobs in South Asia linked to the global economy?

  • Question

    What kinds of workers in South Asia are benefiting the least from these new foreign investments?
• 5. Power and Politics: India, South Asia’s oldest, largest, and strongest democracy, has shown that democratic institutions can ameliorate conflict. Across the region, when ordinary people have been able to participate in policy-making decisions and governance—especially at the local level—intractable conflict has been diffused and combatants have been convinced to take part in peaceful political processes.

  • Question

    Which conflicts in South Asia have been made worse by an unwillingness on the part of governments and warring parties to allow free and fair elections?

  • Question

    What democratic strategy has been used to diffuse some conflicts in the region, at least for the short term?

  • Question

    What are some signs that political participation is catching on in South Asia?