SOUTHEAST ASIA’S POPULATION IN A CHANGING ASIAN CONTEXT:
POLICY IMPLICATIONS2
Background
The International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) with the
collaboration of the College of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University, acting on
behalf of the Asian MetaCentre for Population and Sustainable Development Analysis,
organised the 2002 IUSSP Regional Population Conference under the title Southeast
Asia’s Population in a Changing Asian Context. The Conference was held at the Siam
City Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand, from 10-13 June 2002. Among those providing direct
support were the United Nations Population Fund, the Rockefeller Foundation, the
Wellcome Trust, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, the Asian
MetaCentre for Population and Sustainable Development, the World Health Organisation,
the Thai Population Association, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the
Chulalongkorn University Book Center. In addition, a number of participants received
travel and per diem support from the institutions with which they are affiliated.
The Conference provided a forum for population and development experts, policy
makers and programme managers to discuss emerging population problems in the context
of the region’s rapidly changing population dynamics and to consider the policy
implications of new trends. The Conference also served to foster and encourage closer
collaboration among population centers in the region, especially in relation to South-
South Cooperation. Key operational and policy issues relevant to population and
development themes were considered and lessons learned based on the Southeast Asian
experience.
2 Background Paper prepared by the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) on
the key findings of the IUSSP Regional Conference held in Bangkok, Thailand, 10-13 June 2002 for the 5th
Asian and Pacific Population Conference to be held at ESCAP, Bangkok, Thailand, 11-17 December 2002.