Contents of Vol. 3

1. Present information (basic country information)

Geographic area (physiography, soils, river systems)
Demographics
Economic situation (including livelihood issues)
Environmental status
Agricultural situation (ex. cattle population, need for agricultural expansion)

2. Forest Information

Forest area
Forest distribution (nationally)
Forest tenure system
Ecological description
History of degradation
State of degradation & deforestation regionally + reasons
Constraints for forest restoration & rehabilitation

3. Forest Degradation Control Mechanisms to Date (history)

Linkage to national and provincial forest and land use policies
Case studies
Analysis of case studies
National level degradation control measures
International interventions for degradation control (World Bank, grants)

4. Capacities to Address Degradation Problems

Research
Education & training
Institutional capacity
NGO activities
Extension

5. Innovation Approaches to Address Forest Degradation

Ecosystem Services, Carbon Sequestration
and REDD
Landscape approaches
Prospects for future & the likely countries approach
Payment for environmental services

6. Recommendations

7. References

"Keep Asia Green" - Volume III

South Asia

The Keep Asia Green Project continued in Phase III with work in South Asia, involving five countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
The forests of South Asia are highly diverse ranging from alpine and temperate ecosystems in the Himalayas to tropical and subtropical zones located in the lower mountain ranges and flood plains to littoral mangrove forests stretching along the vast coastal areas. All of these ecosystems have been affected in the past by human activities causing significant deforestation and degradation.

The countries in the region share a wide range of common problems related to rural development, forest land degradation as well as afforestation and forest rehabilitation. However, individual countries pursue different approaches to address some of the issues depending on governance systems, existing institutions, history of land tenure and resource allocations and the evolution of policies and their implementation. Hence, it is a great challenge for South Asian countries to promote economic development while conserving the environment and sustainably managing forest resources. The results of the comprehensive analysis of forest rehabilitation in the region have been published as IUFRO World Series Volume 20-III: Keep Asia Green III “South Asia”. The papers presented in this Volume are listed below.

Authors	*Title*
Promode Kant, Michael Kleine, Krishna Prasad Acharya, Mohammed Kamal Hossain, and Don Koo Lee	Rehabilitating Forests and Extending Tree Cover in South Asia – A Synthesis
Mohammed Kamal Hossain, M. Khairul Alam, and Md. Danesh Miah	Forest Restoration and Rehabilitation in Bangladesh
Lungten Norbu, Dhan B. Dhital, and Pema Wangda	Reforestation in Bhutan – Accomplishments and Prospects
Promode Kant, Preet Pal Singh, Ghazala Shahabuddin, and Rajeshwar Singh Jasrotia	India: Bringing a Third of the Land under Forest Cover
Krishna Prasad Acharya, Buddi Sagar Poudel, and Resham Bahadur Dangi	State of Land Degradation and Rehabilitation Efforts in Nepal
Anura Sathurusinghe	Forest Cover Rehabilitation – Sri Lanka

Coordination Workshop:
A lead authors' workshop was held at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University in Seoul, Republic of Korea from 17-18 May, 2008. The workshop aimed at discussing the major aspects of forest and land rehabilitation in the various countries of South Asia. Based on presentations by the leads authors on key issues of afforestation and forest rehabilitation the group elaborated a general list of content that will serve as guideline in the drafting process of the individual country contributions. For more details of the lead authors' workshop please access the workshop report.

Editorial Meeting:
The lead authors of Volume III of Keep Asia Green on South Asia convened in Bangkok, from 15 to 16 November, 2008, to discuss the draft country papers and final layout of the book. In addition a synthesis paper was elaborated summarizing major information and key results contained in the country papers.