The Asia Pacific region is perhaps one of the most diverse areas on our planet. Not only is it comprised of numerous dissimilar countries but the myriad of cultures, language, religion and politics is mind boggling. There is also the sheer size of the region. The Asia Pacific region, as defined in this article, is an immense region, covering some 2.8 billion hectares of land area, or approximately 22 percent of the total global land area. Stretching from the borders of China-Mongolia with the NIS to the north to the southern tip of Australia and New Zealand to the south, this region covers the spectrum of conditions from northern temperate and boreal through the range of tropical and subtropical zones and back to temperate. From the high plateaus and mountains of Pakistan to the west and extending to the island countries of North Asia and the South Pacific, the Asia Pacific region incorporates conditions of moist tropical to arid and semi-arid desert. As would be expected by this huge geography, the human and social dimensions of the Asia Pacific region are equally diverse.
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