Our central purpose is to identify those elements, in the present and immediately prospective state of the region, that can be described as impoverished, endangered, or critical, and to explain such conditions whether in strictly environmental or in wider terms. In an appendix we discuss the concepts of endangerment and criticality in general theoretical terms, and refer the reader to this discussion for a background to the concepts. In part I, we begin by outlining a background of the natural environment, placing emphasis on those processes that operate over a long time. We then narrate the course of events, beginning by offering a sketchy overview of a longer environmental history. This is followed by an account of accelerating modern change, which sets the scene for the more analytical part II, in which selected elements of possible endangerment or criticality are examined.
Emphasis is placed on questions related to deforestation and environmental degradation.
However, we also place emphasis on variability. Our conclusions in chapter 11 are briefly stated and practical. They may be unpopular in some quarters. They finally refer back, however, to this discussion of issues for the study of criticality in global environmental change. For most of the time, Byron was Research Officer in the Department of Human Geography, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University.