Asia-Pacific nations are failing to halt the loss of natural forests and grasslands, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Tuesday, robbing people of their livelihoods and worsening environmental problems like desertification and climate change.
Forests and grasslands make up 58% of the region’s land mass, but each year 2 million hectares (20,000 square kms) are degraded and rendered useless, Patrick Durst, a FAO senior forestry officer told a food conference in Ulan Bator.
Across the Asia-Pacific, 400 million hectares (4 mln sq kms) - an area equal to the combined size of India and Burma - are now in bad need of restoration, he said.
Lost grassland boosts desertification and helps cause massive sand storms that sometimes carry as far as eastern Canada.
Meanwhile, illegal logging, farmland expansion and urbanisation drive deforestation across the region, especially in Southeast Asia.
Data from green group WWF show the greater Mekong region lost a third of its forests in the 35 years to 2009, even though deforestation rates have slowed somewhat in recent years.
But solving the issue would require funding arrangements, stronger domestic law enforcement, strong political will and capacity-building, FAO said.
In search of positive news, FAO said that while loss of natural forests continue, actual forest coverage in the region has increased over the past 20 years, mostly thanks to reforestation programmes in China, India and Vietnam.
But experts say problems have only gotten worse in many reforested areas because biologically diverse forests have been replaced with single species planted for commercial purposes, such as palm oil and rubber plantations.
“Mixing trees with grass in dry areas would ensure their survival and protect biodiversity, isolate pests and limit forest fires,” said Jin Zhonghao, China director for WWF’s global forest and trade network.