Deforestation in the region has increased from 2 million hectares per year during 1976–81 to 3.9 million hectares per year in 1981–90 (see Figure 1.6). The highest rates of deforestation are found in insular and continental South-East Asia, followed by South Asia and the Pacific. The countries experiencing the most rapid deforestation are Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand (FAO, 1993). Despite these rates of deforestation, 13 countries in the region have per capita forest areas higher than the world average (0.71 hectares per capita). The South-East Asian sub-region has a per capita forest cover of 0.48 hectares per person and also the highest absolute deforestation rates with continental and insular South-East Asia losing around 1.3 and 1.9 million hectares a year, respectively. In the early 1990s, Indonesia alone had a deforestation rate of 0.6 million hectares per year (around 0.5 per cent of its forest cover), while Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand each lost more than 300,000 hectares a year, representing 2.0, 1.3, 4.0 and 4.0 per cent of their forest cover respectively for the period 1981-1990. About 980,000 hectares of forest area were depleted between 1989 and 1993 in Thailand alone (Government of Thailand, 1994). Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam each lost in excess of 100,000 hectares per year, representing 1.0, 0.9 and 1.6 per cent of their total forest cover respectively, for the period 1981-90 (FAO, 1995) ( see Figure 1.7) 

 
The lowest per capita forest cover is found in the South Asian sub-region where it is around 0.08 hectares per person, which is also substantially lower than the regional figure of 0.21 hectares per capita. It was estimated in 1989 that, at the current levels of consumption of forest produce and of forest productivity, every Indian citizen would require at least 0.47 hectares of forest to meet their basic needs. 

The Pacific sub-region has the highest per capita forest cover at 5.88 hectares per person and the lowest rate of deforestation at around 130,000 hectares per year, of which 113,000 hectares are removed in Papua New Guinea alone (see Figure 1.8). This country also has the highest forest cover in the entire region, at 9.42 hectares per capita (FAO/RAPA, 1994). 

The percentage change in total forest areas for the period 1981 to 1990 are estimated at a 6.7 per cent decrease in tropical forests and a 5.2 per cent increase in temperate forests. The percentage decrease in the natural tropical forest area was 11.1 per cent (the highest rate of decrease observed when compared with other regions for this type of forest) and in the natural temperate forest area it was 3.4 per cent (the lowest rate compared with other developing regions). 
 

In order to cope with the problem of deforestation, national Governments have initiated several activities to protect the forest area, such as forest park zoning, wildlife conservation area zoning, national park zoning, plantations, etc. According to the 1990 Assessment by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the rate of plantation establishment during the 1980–90 period was higher in the Asia-Pacific region than for other regions for which estimates were available (see Figure 1.9). From 1981 to 1990, an average of 525,000 hectares of forest plantations were established each year throughout the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. The annual percentage increase in plantation area in South Asia during the same period were close to 30 per cent. As a result of a massive tree planting programme in the People’s Republic of China, nearly 32 million hectares of plantation were established by the year 1990. The Pakistan Environmental Protection Council launched a massive afforestation programme in 1995 aimed at doubling the forest area in the country. Net deforestation has also started to decline in India. 

Despite the plantation programmes, rapid population growth has contributed not only to destruction of forest by land clearing for cultivation but also to the over-harvesting of forest for fuelwood, roundwood and fodder. At the current rate of harvesting, the remaining timber reserves in Asia will not last for more than 40 years. To help cope with this problem, trade in forestry products could be controlled by rigorous enforcement of forest policies (where such policies exist they are generally weak) and also by improving afforestation programmes to match the rate of deforestation. Agricultural productivity could also be increased without sacrificing further forest area, perhaps by adopting high yielding varieties and by proper management of water and agrochemicals.