Problem overview:

     Meeting information requirements: Assessing the condition of land and linking this with human activities can prove difficult in mountainous terrain. By conducting regional assessments using aerial photography and satellite imagery, land use planners are able to determine the best strategies for environmental improvement.

Background in summary:

     Areas of land use assessment: Nepal has acquired considerable data on land resources and soil cover. The regional level study includes Ilam in the mid hills of far-east, Dhanusa district of Terai and the Phewa and Bagmati Watersheds.

     Ilam district: The people grow cardamom, potatoes, broom grass etc. Government also introduced tea gardening. People also started stall feeding their animals, with the result that the terrain as well as the economy of district has become robust.

     Dhanusa district: was one of prosperous district in the past. In recent years, wide scale deforestation of Churia Hill has increased landslides, soil erosion and mass wasting with the result most of the rivers are dry sand and in rainy season the run off is instantaneous causing heavy loss of life and properly downstream.

     Phewa and Bagmati Watersheds: indicate that terracing and afforestation are economically beneficial to the people and also they help to restore the degraded land back to original state to some extent.

     Continuous monitoring and assessment: At present, regular monitoring is being done by the Department of Hydrology and Metrology and the Department of Soil Conservation. Updated versions showed that about 10% of the total cultivated area were in degraded condition. An estimated 7 per cent of the total area is in the process of desertification and about 17 per cent % of the land need immediate conservation.

Peer Review Committee Good practice rating: (1 for the best, 5 for the lowest score)
Sustainability		Efficiency
2	Improvement in either the environment of economic condition with no harm to the other.	2	Cost efficient.
2	Sustainable over time (not one-off)	Process
Adaptability		-	Participation of the community
4	Location adaptability (can the project be done in other places?)	-	Participation of resource owners/users
2	Socio-cultural adaptability.	-	Partnerships between various actors (Governments, NGO, Academia, Private)
2	Level of development adaptability.	2	Degree of coordination and cooperation between government departments.
2	Style of government adaptability.	2	Ability to attract political interest/support
3	Degree of decentralization adaptability.	2	Procedures for feedback and review.
Comments on this example:       It is important to always keep track of the natural resource stock. Although the process takes time and requires a lot of money, it is still considered a compulsory or necessary practice. Sufficient qualitative and quantitative environmental information will be useful in the environmental policy formulation process. Sustainability of the project:   Adaptability of the project to other situations:       Process of decision making and implementation:      Meeting information requirements: Land is a renewable resource, under the condition that it hasnt been degraded to a point of becoming a desert. Old-fashioned agricultural techniques have degraded soil quality and reduced crop yield. However, with technological discoveries, there is hope that soil quality can be recovered and proper land management could result in long-term productivity. In order to arrive with proper land management techniques, information on the type of soil or the type of agricultural product being grown must be taken into account. That is why information on land assessment is very important for sustainable management. Cost efficiency: