Motivation and background
Economic and institutional reforms in East and Southeast Asia have caused impressive economic growth and improved the livelihood of millions of people. This growth, however, changed the quality of natural resources and three eminent questions emerge: first, can the agricultural output growth justify the change in natural resource quality such as air, water, land, and natural forests? Second, does the change in natural resource quality threaten sustainable agricultural development and, third, if so what are appropriate policy responses? To provide answers to these three questions the international dimension of changes in natural resource quality and the integration of the East and Southeast Asian economies into the world economy have to be taken into account.

Scope and objectives
The scope of the conference stretches over theoretical, empirical and policy studies, addressing one or more of these three questions. The specific objectives of the conference are twofold:

1. First, to provide a forum for and initiate discussions about theoretical models and empirical studies addressing economic growth, change in natural resource use and environmental policies.
2. Second, to offer opportunities for formulating policy responses and strategies for direct action and implementation.