the region there is considerable variation in recorded tem­peratures. During the winter months in Mongolia the tem­perature commonly falls below zero, whereas in the summer months in the arid regions of Pakistan and Australia day­time temperatures can rise above 50°C.
     Rainfed agriculture is restricted in many countries to that period coinciding with the monsoon.  However, in some of the more humid parts of the region rainfall occurs throughout the year, giving a 12-month growing season. In the northern and high-altitude parts of the region the length of growing season is curtailed by low temperatures, below 5°C. Tropical cyclones and typhoons are a feature in much of the region and result in heavy downpours, with the risk of high runoff and flooding. The worst effects of the strong winds, tidal surges and heavy rainfall are mostly felt in coastal and island areas; the influence of some cyclones may extend into the interior of the Asian continent. Islands in the Pa­cific and the Philippine archipelago are especially vulnerable. The smallest islands cannot deflect typhoons and cyclones and are not large enough to moderate climatic circulation patterns. They are vulnerable to drought and other climate events, which can destroy complete ecosystems. The effects of climate variability and change on agriculture are projected to steadily manifest directly in changes in land and water regimes. Changes in the frequency and intensity of drought and flooding and the amount of storm damage are expected. Climate change is expected to result in long-term water and resource shortages, worsening soil conditions, drought and desertification, disease and pest outbreaks on crops and live­stock and sea level rise. Vulnerable areas are expected to ex­perience losses in agricultural productivity, primarily from reduction in crop yields (Rosenzweig et al., 2002).
     In contrast, climate change is also expected to result in some beneficial effects, particularly in temperate regions. Lengthening growing seasons, carbon fertilization and im­proved conditions for crop growth are forecast and should stimulate gains in agricultural productivity in high-altitude regions, such as Northern China and Mongolia (Mendel­sohn et al., 2004).
     In ESAP agriculture land is the primary resource. Land categories are arable permanent crops, permanent pasture, and forests and woodlands. East Asia has the biggest total land area among the major regions in Asia, with more than 1 billion ha, followed by Southeast Asia and South Asia. China leads all the ESAP countries with a 932,743,000 ha, followed by Australia, India and Indonesia. Countries in the Pacific Islands and Maldives have the least land area.
     In arable and permanent croplands, South Asia has the largest area because India tops all ESAP countries, with 202,835,000 ha. East Asia comes next with 160,796,000 ha, followed by Southeast Asia with 95,361,000 ha. Indus­trial countries Australia, Japan and New Zealand have a combined 56,043,000 ha of arable and permanent cropland. China has 400,001,000 ha and Mongolia 129,300,000 ha permanent pasture, giving East Asia the highest poten­tial for livestock production for ruminants. Australia has 391,565,000 ha of permanent pasture area, which also provides the country the opportunity to produce a lot of ruminants.

1.2.1.1   Forest resources
Forests cover about 25% of Asia and the Pacific. The Pacific Islands, with 65% forest cover, and insular Southeast Asia, with 53%, have the highest proportion of land-user forest. Papua New Guinea has the largest rainforest coverage in the Pacific region and accounts for the third largest block of tropical rainforest in the world (Chatterton et al., 2000). South Asia has relatively little forest cover.
     Although ESAP contains only about 5% of the world's forests, it accounts for about 25% of forest loss over the last decade. The Philippines has had the highest rate of de­forestation, followed by Pakistan, Thailand and Malaysia. However, the largest losses have occurred in Indonesia and Myanmar (Waggener, 2001). Between 1990 and 2000 the region experienced considerable decline in forest cover, with the greatest decline in the islands of Southeast Asia, fol­lowed by continental Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands (Waggener and Lane, 1997). Forests in the South Pacific are being removed at an unsustainable rate (ESCAP, 2000).
     The Asia and Pacific region is also home to the world's greatest concentration of mangroves. Once thought of as coastal wasteland, mangroves have been destroyed at alarm­ing rates for agriculture, aquaculture and firewood. Up to half of mangrove destruction in recent years has been prompted by the desire to create shrimp farms (UN Atlas of the Sea, 2002). Over the last 20 to 30 years, with the help of the UNESCO Mangrove Programme and other interna­tional initiatives, government planners and fisheries experts have become more aware of the many roles that mangroves play as a nursery for many coastal and aquaculture fish spe­cies, as a key buffer that reduces the impact of sediment flows onto offshore reefs and as a barrier to protect against storm surges and tsunamis (Vannucci, 1997). About 90% of all marine organisms spend some portion of their life cycle within mangrove systems (Adeel and Pomeroy, 2002). Mangroves have some commonality with open access natu­ral forests in management (see 2.2.5).
     ESAP has over 552 million ha of forests, of which 477 million ha are natural. However, only about 249 million ha have been available and suitable for harvesting (Waggener, 2001). The natural forests throughout ESAP up until very recently have been seen mostly as a vast natural source of raw timber for export income. However, there is general agreement on the need to change from a focus on timber exploitation to an emphasis on management for sustainable, multiple-use natural forests (Enters, 1997). In the face of in­creasing deforestation, many countries across ESAP, includ­ing China, New Zealand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Viet Nam, imposed several partial, temporary or selec­tive bans on logging in natural and old growth forests. The results of these restrictions have been mixed and a number of case studies have indicated that bans can have unantici­pated effects on timber supply, forest harvesting, transport, processing and consumption of forest products and on for­est residents and those who depend on forestry for their live­lihoods (Waggener, 2001).
     Plantation forestry is another form of management in the region. In 2000, ESAP accounted for 61% of global for­est plantations. Five ESAP countries accounted for 55% of the world's forest plantations and 91% within Asia and the