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INTRODUCTION
During the biennium, FAO understook a wide range of activities under its three major programmes agriculture, fisheries and forestry including also activities in the areas of economic and social policy, nutrition and other related subjects.
However, the extent of these activities was limited by the critical financial constraints wich plagued the Organization for most of the biennium. Severe liquidity problems caused by arrears in the receipt of contributions have meant a constant battle to ensure the required cash flow to support the approved programme of work. Inevitably, the Director-General found it necessary to slow down implementation of programmes particularly in 1988 when activities planned to cost some $20 million were deferred. While only $737 000 of this amount was contributed directly by the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, the reduction in the Organization's overall capacity to deliver its programme unavoidably limited its contribution to all regions.
The direct impact can be measured in terms of the services provided to the region and it will be seen, for example, that the number of seminars and meetings, the quantity of publications, and the extent of direct support to member countries fell significantly in 1988-89 when compared to 1986-87. This is clearly shown from the Table on Activities under FAO's Regular Programme in the Annex. For example training courses organized and number of trainees have dropped by 35 percent; the use of consultants for direct support to member countries declined by almost 64 percent; FAO's staff's time in the field by close to 8 percent due to lack of travel funds and number of publications reduced by over 20 percent. The report below should be interpreted in the light of this difficult environment.
I.
NATURAL RESOURCES
Assessment and Planning
1.
The land use planning capabilities of India, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam have been strengthened through technical assistance; improved soil survey and land evaluation technology has been provided to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India and Viet Nam, while Thailand has benefited from training in and the introduction of applied research techniques in land productivity evaluation under TCP assistance. Bhutan was assisted in the establishment of a soil laboratory in support of soil resources assessment. Preparatory assistance was provided for a UNDP-funded project on mountain, river and lake development in Jiangxi Province, China, and for a land resources survey of Laos.
2.
FAO continued its assistance to Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ) studies for the assessment of potential population supporting capacities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. A UNDP-funded AEZ project became operational in China in 1989 and 50 trainees have already undergone in-country training. A user-familiarization workshop was held in Bangladesh as a follow-up to the AEZ study completed in 1987 and has resulted in increased use of AEZ methodology in production planning. Preparatory assistance was provided to Bangladesh for the development of a Geographic Information System.