National Initiatives
Bhutan established the Bhutan Trust Fund (BTF) in March 1991 to ensure
sustainable finance for the preservation of Bhutan’s forestry and rich
biological diversity which will be increasingly under pressure because
of population growth and economic development (World Bank, 1992).
In India, the Chipko movement which has been active since 1973, is one
of the most successful examples of people-orientated environmental restoration
in parts of the Himalayan region. The main aim of this movement, in which
women play a key role, is tree protection and plantation. Like the Chipko
movement, the Appiko movement was launched to save the tropical forests
of the Western Ghats. This simple non-violent action became popular and
people have joined this movement spontaneously. Since the announcement
of the National Forest Policy in 1988, considerable achievement has been
made in forest conservation. It is evident from satellite imagery that
net deforestation in India is being arrested (India, 1992b).
In the Republic of Korea, the first 10-year Forest Development Plan
was initiated in 1973 with a target of 1 million hectares of new plantation.
This target was achieved before schedule. At present, the Third National
Forest Plan (1988–1997) is underway and is proving to be very successful.
In Pakistan, during 1995, the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council
(PEPC) launched a massive afforestation programme to double the forest
resources in the country from the existing 5 per cent to 10 per cent (ESCAP,
1995).
In Indonesia, the main focus of forest policy is to improve the harvesting
and regeneration of natural forests and to establish industrial forest
plantations in denuded and unproductive forest land. In Myanmar, the basic
forest policy features sustainable timber production without depleting
existing forest resources. In Malaysia, the National Forest Policy which
was enacted in 1977, was a major break-through in strengthening the institutional
base for forest management and for the co-operation between Federal and
State Governments (ESCAP, 1995). Nepal introduced the National Forestry
Plan in 1976 and a Master Plan (1986–89) to achieve the national policy
goals of rehabilitating degraded forest resources through public participation
(Nepal, 1992).
Regional Initiatives
The SACEP Strategy and Programme (SPR-1, 1992–96) includes regional co-operation
in social forestry as one of the 15 Priority Subject Matter Areas (SACEP,
1992). The ongoing Land Cover Assessment and Monitoring project implemented
by UNEP’s Environmental Assessment Programme for the Asia Pacific (EAP-AP)
primarily focuses on the assessment of major land cover types and on the
detection of land and forest cover changes for countries in the Asia-Pacific
region. Assessment is carried out at a scale of 1:1 million on a regular
basis using data such as from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) AVHRR (1.1 km ´ 1.1 km,
1 day), SPOT (20 m ´ 20 m, 16 days)
and Landsat (30 m ´ 30 m, 26 days)
satellites. This project also provides an opportunity for micro-assessments
which enable detailed investigation and can identify areas of major land
cover transformation (i.e. hot spot areas) at a scale of 1:100,000 to 1:250,000.
These assessments could serve as an early warning system to aid sustainable
decision making and preventative measures. |
