World’s Soil Resources

Figure 10.8 Estimate CH 4
emission from rice paddy in Asia. Source: Yan et al., 2009.
10.6 | Conclusion
In Asia, management of land and water resources has been identified as one of the priority ways to
achieve sustainable food security by raising land productivity, reversing land degradation and water loss, and
increasing biodiversity and the quality of the environment. Asian countries have also committed themselves
to strengthening regional cooperation and national capacities to develop a more integrated approach to the
management of natural resources. An integrated approach is needed to improve the ability of countries to
plan and monitor the better use and management of their land resources to increase agricultural productivity
while maintaining land and environmental quality.
However, since the GLASOD and ASSOD projects of the 1980s and 1990s, no extended assessment of the
status of soil resources has been carried out in the region. There have been extensive scientific communications
amongst experts in the region, including the activities of the East and Southeast Asia Federation of Soil Science
Societies (ESAFS). Based on the above finding, a provisional assessment is made of the status and trend of the
10 soil threats in order of importance for the region. At the same time an indication is given of the reliability of
these estimates (Table 10.4).
Status of the World’s Soil Resources | Main Report Regional Assessment of Soil Changes
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in Asia