Forests, wetlands, reefs and other important habitats of most ASEAN countries are damaged to such an extent that urgent measures are required to restore them to productivity and to repair their important ecological functions (e.g. water catchments, climate regulation, purification, flood control, germplasm conservation). In many cases, degraded habitats are left as unused, barren land or are replanted with exotic monocultures that fail to preserve local biodiversity or restore original ecological functions. Studies are required for both terrestrial and marine habitats into appropriate ways in which natural vegetation can be re-established, e.g. by way of establishing complex habitats that will be able to sustain and enrich themselves without further human intervention. |
