The unique geography of island nations enable them to bank lucratively on tourism. These places have stretches of coastlines, tropical climates, and historical and cultural significance – some of the factors that drive tourism. These nations are also strategically located for maritime trade as their economies mostly rely on imports and exports. Some of these nations boast natural resources such as fisheries, arable land, minerals, and forestry.
However, many island countries are more affected than other nations by climate change, which produces problems such as reduced land usage, water scarcity, and sometimes even resettlement issues. Some low-lying island countries are slowly being submerged by steadily rising sea levels. Other adverse effects linked to global warming that have been witnessed in these countries include typhoons, cyclones, tides, floods and droughts, which have had a devastating effect on people’s lives, infrastructure, and agriculture.
Indonesia
Size: 1.9 million square kilometres
Population: 270.6 million
Situated in Southeast Asia, Indonesia lies strategically between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. The island country stretches for 1,760 kilometres from north to south and 5,120 kilometres from east to west. The number of islands making up the archipelago has been estimated to be over 18,000. There are five major islands, namely Sulawesi, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, and Sumatra, and two primary archipelagos, the Maluku Islands and Nusa Tenggara, as well as 60 smaller archipelagos. Some of the islands are shared with other countries including Borneo (Brunei and Malaysia), Timor (East Timor), and New Guinea (Papua New Guinea). Java is the most densely populated island in the archipelago, and in the world.
Philippines
Size: 300,000 square kilometres
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة AG 01/2020 - 140 من ASIAN Geographic.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة AG 01/2020 - 140 من ASIAN Geographic.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Revealed Doctor Yellow
Japan Railways' special lemony Shinkansen is a rare sight to behold
The Mighty Yellow
Over 5,000 kilometres long and flowing through nine provinces and autonomous regions, the Yellow River is China's second largest, after the Yangtze, while its basin is deemed the cradle of Chinese civilisation
Wildlife Big Yellow Beauty
The popular "amelanistic" form of the Burmese python is considered among the most beautiful snakes - if that's your sort of thing
All That Glitters Is Gold
From Turkey to China, the yellow metal plays a central role in cultural practices and is coveted as a symbol of affluence and status
Chengdu Hotel Spotlight TRIKA TSANG INTERNATIONAL HOTEL
For an authentic taste of Tibet in the heart of Chengdu, the most luxurious option is the majestic Trika Tsang International Hotel.
Conservation Yellow in Peril
While the demand for use in traditional Chinese medicine is putting seahorses under pressure, it is damaging non-selective fishing that is driving depletion
History Spiritual Rebirth
During the Spanish Golden Age, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan achieved the first European navigation to Asia via the Pacific, arriving in the Philippines in 1521 and claiming the islands for Spain. But by converting the first Filipinos to Catholicism, Magellan also instigated the Christianisation of the entire archipelago, a spiritual rebirth celebrated through the two most important festivals in the Philippines - Fiesta Señor and Sinulog.
Green Dreams
With its tea plantations and rice paddies, dense jungles and expansive forests, the region is well known as a green paradise. But many of the most impressive Asian landscapes have names you may never have heard of. Journey with us as we reveal just some of the incredible locations that make the rest of the world green with envy!
Life On The Edge
In the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the remote northern Russian Far East, indigenous ethnic groups like the Chukchi and the Yupik live in the most extreme conditions, hunting seals in their traditional kayaks as they have for millennia
The Karakoram Anomaly Decoded
For decades, scientists have believed that glaciers in the Karakoram Range are defying the trend of those across the globe-resisting glacial melt due to human-induced global warming. But as we trek up the Karakoram's second-longest glacier in July, as the United Nations announces the world's hottest ever month on record, does the melting ice beneath our feet suggest the so-called Karakoram Anomaly is slowing? Or is there a ray of hope it will continue to delay the inevitable?