INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION
The expansion and transformation of shrimp aquaculture in
Southeast Asia has occurred in the context of rapid industrialization.
Between 1970 and 1993 the contribution by industry to
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased from 25% to 40%, and
industrial output increased 25 times during the same period. Energy
and pollution intensities (per unit of economic activity) of
most countries remain comparatively high compared to Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
countries, especially in the centrally planned economies like Vietnam
(1). Thailand with its much larger economy and industrial
sectors already has a history of air and water pollution problems.
As rapid as industrialization has been, the base remains comparatively
small. Most of the investment in industrialization of
Southeast Asia is still to come, and much of this will happen in
coastal zones where urbanization also is a major process. With
improved energy efficiency and material recycling, individual
businesses and perhaps even sectors can reduce their burden on
the environment. However, continuing expansion of economic
and industrial activity in most countries in the region for at least
the next several decades will mean that the cumulative effects
on uses of energy, materials, and natural resources, and burdens
on the waste-assimilation capacities of local and regional ecosystems,
will continue to grow. A profound transformation in
the way industry is developed, especially in coastal zones and
along waterways, is required. The focus has to shift from abatement
and “end-of-the-pipe” solutions to prevention, by focusing
on reducing pollution and resource-use intensities, and finally
toward new visions of society and its supporting systems
or an “Industrial Transformation” (2).