Water pollution is one of the most serious problems plaguing China today with millions of citizens drinking water unfit for consumption. These abysmal conditions have fuelled increasing social discontent, as people become more concerned by the need to address the pressing issues of water pollution, scarcity, and waste management. This book describes how and why China has ended up in such a dire situation, what the government is doing to address the problem and the difficulties encountered in attempting to reduce pollution. The analysis is based on both gray literature (newspaper articles, NGO reports, Chinese government information) and on academic studies. The gray literature gives a voice to those who suffer from the pollution, their advocates, and government officers, and allows the reader to better grasp the conditions on the ground, and the impact of the air pollution among the people in different areas in China. The academic literature adds a theoretical perspective and brings these different case studies into a broader context. This book will be of great interest to students of environmental pollution and contemporary Chinese studies looking for an introduction to the topic, as well as researchers looking for an analysis of China's environmental problems.

Water pollution is one of the most serious problems plaguing China today with millions of citizens drinking water unfit for consumption. These abysmal conditions have fuelled increasing social discontent, as people become more concerned by the need to address the pressing issues of water pollution, scarcity, and waste management. This book describes how and why China has ended up in such a dire situation, what the government is doing to address the problem and the difficulties encountered in attempting to reduce pollution. The analysis is based on both gray literature (newspaper articles, NGO reports, Chinese government information) and on academic studies. The gray literature gives a voice to those who suffer from the pollution, their advocates, and government officers, and allows the reader to better grasp the conditions on the ground, and the impact of the air pollution among the people in different areas in China. The academic literature adds a theoretical perspective and brings these different case studies into a broader context. This book will be of great interest to students of environmental pollution and contemporary Chinese studies looking for an introduction to the topic, as well as researchers looking for an analysis of China's environmental problems.

The Karen are one of the major ethnic minority groups in the Himalayan highlands, living predominantly in the border area between Thailand and Burma. As the largest ethnic minority in Thailand, they have often been in conflict with the Thai majority. This book is the first major ethnographic and anthropological study of the Karen for over a decade and looks at such key issues as history, ethnic identity, religious change, the impact of government intervention, education land management and gender relations.

Contents:
1. Studying Peoples Often Called Karen Ronald D. Renard Part One: Negotiating an Ethnic Identity 2. Constructing Marginality: the 'Hill Tribe' Karen and their ShiftingLocations within Thai State and Public Perpectives Pinkaew Laungaramsri 3. Trapped in Environmental Discourses and Politics of Exclusion: Karen in the Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in the Context of Forest and Hill Tribe Policies in Thailand Reiner Buergin 4. Community Culture: Strengthening Persistence to Empower Resistence John McKinnon Part Two: Social Practices and Transformations: Courtship, Marriage, and Changing Sexual Morality 5. Living for Funerals: Karen Teenagers and Romantic Love Christina Lammert Fink 6. Morality, Sexuality and Mobility: Changing Moral Discourse and Self Yoko Hayami 7. When it is Better to Sing than to Speak: the Use of Traditional Verses (Hta) Roland Mischung Part Three: Social and Economic Adaptation to Government Intervention 8. Social Realities Opportunities and Constraints for the economic adaption to Government Intervention Claudio O. Delang 9. The Karen in Transition from Shifting Cultivation to Permanent Farming: Testing Tools for Participatory Land Use Planning at Local Level Oliver Puginier 10. The Politics of 'Karen-ness' in Thailand Charles Keyes