The Link Between Emerging Climate Change, Air Pollution and Their Impacts on Biodiversity: A Southeast Asia Overview

Abstract:

Southeast Asia has the highest relative rate of biodiversity loss of any major tropical regions. Recent research showed that the region could lose three quarters of its original forests by 2100 and up to 42% of its biodiversity. There are various driving forces of this biodiversity crisis. The known impacts on biodiversity, however, are highly limited. The increasing impacts of climate change are also amplifying the level of air pollution in not only urban but also rural areas in the region. There is evidence that air pollution is no longer a threat to biodiversity but it has been identified as a cause of biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia. The impacts of air pollution on biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia region have been mentioned but have not been thoroughly researched. Emerging evidence suggests air pollution, intensified by the impacts of climate change, disrupt and impoverish regional ecosystems processes, and genetic and population diversity. This paper pulls together current knowledge on the subject, assesses its relevance, and offers a set of implications of the impacts of climate change on increasing rate of air pollution in South East Asia. Its impacts on biodiversity in particular, categorised in various ecosystems in the Southeast Asian, are addressed. The paper also offers discussions on urgent need for a comprehensive research on combined impacts of climate change and air pollution on biodiversity.