The Challenge of the New Generation- Sustainable Consumption and Production

Over exploitation of natural resources due to population explosion, urbanization and changing life style is a common problem across the globe. The ecological foot print of a living individual in most parts of the world exceeds the fair share. This indicates that we are heading towards disaster due to environmental problems emerging as a result of the over consumption of resources. The resulting environmental problems appear in disguised forms of natural calamities, health related issues, dearth of resources etc. It is surprising but sad that less than 20% of the global population is living in abundance while the majority live in the midst of shortages.

The Asia Pacific represents a specific segment of global population with special identities. The region is rich in natural resources but a majority of the world’s poor live in this region. The extremely rich and extremely poor people coexist in the Asia Pacific region especially in the developing countries. Besides, a number of tribes and nations having centuries old cultures and civilizations live in the region.