Book review : Living landscapes connected communities : culture, environment and change across Asia, edited by JustineVaz and NarumolAphinives (eds). Areca Books, George Town, 2014.

This ambitious book is derived from a multiyear project titled ‘Community-based Initiatives toward Human–Ecological Balance’, which was initiated by the Asia Pacific Intellectuals (API) Foundation and centred upon five diverse sites across Asia. This captivating volume examines the lives and environments of each community visited and asks how the residents in each place have adapted and responded to various forms of environmental and social transformation. Following a brief introduction by the editors, the book is divided into five main sections focused around each case study site, namely: Batanes, Philippines; Tasik Chini, Malaysia; Kali Code, Indonesia; Khiriwong, Thailand; and Biwako, Japan. These detailed empirical sections are then followed by another large section (‘Rethinking human–ecological balance’) that discusses various themes connecting the different communities, and a final concluding section by Justine Vaz. Together, the essays in each section of Living Landscapes convey how rural or agrarian environments in the region are experienced differently along (often intersecting) lines of spirituality, identity, belonging and well-being. Moreover, they articulate stories of resilience, perseverance and collective action, which contrast sharply with fatalistic views of environmental degradation in the region.