The spec fic object ves of the project include: 1) outlining the general relationship between FTAs, trade and the environment; 2) reviewing the salient features of ACFTA's focus on tariff reduction schedules and thematic cooperation; 3) examining the evolution of China-GMS5 trade under the ACFTA and assessing the resulting environmental impacts for the GMS, with a special focus on Cambodia; 4) und [...] Structure Chapter Two provides an overview of the debate on trade and the environment with a particular focus on three aspects: 1) environmental regulations, competitiveness and the relocation of industry or pollution haven hypothesis; 2) economic growth and the environment; and 3) trade liberalization and the environment. [...] The result has been confirmed by more recent studies by the same researchers (Xing and Kolstad, 2002), which looked at the impact of environmental regulations on the movement of capital in polluting industries in the U. S. The literature review on the pollution haven hypothesis by Brunnermeier and Levinson (2004) discusses recent studies that support the effects of environmental regulation on indu [...] Summary This section provides an overview of the debate on trade and the environment with a specific focus on two aspects of the issue: the impact of environmental regulations on trade patterns and competitiveness as well as the effect of economic growth and trade liberalization on the environment. [...] The relative accuracy of measuring and forecasting changes in the demand for goods and services and the associated levels of environmental degradation varies with the degree of sophistication of the applied measurement/forecasting tools.

The large market size and abundant resources of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), including a large, motivated and cheap workforce, a rich agricultural base, extensive timber and fisheries resources, considerable potential mineral resources, and vast energy resources have seen the subregion increasingly recognized as a new frontier of Southeast Asian economic strength. This book aims to assess the recent economic, social and political developments in the GMS and identify emerging opportunities and challenges facing the successful transition towards a market-driven economy. The countries of the GMS are at a critical juncture where subregional efforts and cooperation must be made to fully address the rapidly evolving issues that are vital to appropriate policy formation, yet which remain widely debatable. The deliberations here shed light on the development stages and offer policy recommendations for pushing forward subregional cooperation.

The Mekong River is a vital and valuable resource, with huge development potential for the six states through which it flows. Given the significant asymmetry of power between those states, however, there is a real risk that some might utilise it to the detriment of others. Without a sense of regional belonging, it is difficult to imagine that these states and their constituent communities will take regional imperatives to heart, participate in joint regulatory frameworks, or adopt behaviours for upstream-downstream and lateral cooperation over the appropriation and use of their shared resources. How effectively has closer interdependence of the Mekong countries accommodated the development of a political-social-cultural space conducive to the growth of a regional "we-ness" among not only political elites, but also the general public? The contributors to this volume approach this question from a range of directions, including the impacts of tourism, regional development programmes, the Mekong Power Grid, and Sino-US rivalry. This edited volume presents valuable insights for scholars of international relations, Asian studies, development studies, environment studies, policy studies, and human geography.