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Annual Report 2002 : Operational Priorities and Performance

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Agriculture, natural resources, and rural development

Ensuring environmental sustainability and better natural resource management continued to challenge resource managers in 2002. Accelerated growth has contributed to the degradation of the region's natural resources. Forest depletion has increased the vulnerability of soil erosion that, in turn, has affected catchment areas. Overfishing threatens fish stock regeneration. Drier regions face the threat of reduced water availability and competition for scarce water resources as urban and industrial demand continues to rise. Protectionism re-emerged with the adoption of the Farm Bill in the United States, and farm subsidies among OECD countries.

ADB addressed these issues in 2002 with assistance focused on agricultural productivity, natural resource management, and rural development. Loans and technical assistance addressed poverty reduction; improved food security and diversification; aimed at alleviating natural resource depletion, particularly in the forest and fisheries subsectors; provided better access to basic public goods and services; assisted governments in formulating policies and undertaking policy reforms; enhanced economic growth in the rural areas by investing in social services, rural infrastructure, and rural support services; and strengthened institutions for better resource management.

ADB joined the Asia Forest Partnership (AFP), an initiative of the governments of Indonesia and Japan that promotes sustainable forest management in Asia by addressing good governance and forest law enforcement, developing capacity for effective forest law enforcement, countering illegal logging, preventing and fighting forest fires, and rehabilitating and reforesting degraded lands. The AFP was launched during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (see Box on the World Summit on page 42).

ADB’s Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Development Committee was formed in 2002. Also in 2002, ADB prepared a strategic framework for agriculture and rural development and drafted an update of the 1995 forestry policy. More than 500 stakeholders participated in the review of the old policy, providing valuable input for new policy development (see http://www.adb.org/Projects/ForestPolicy/abt_flow.pdf).

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