The United Nations University does not have a campus and students nor offer degrees but rather is designed to stimulate and reinforce intellectual endeavour in developing countries. Institutions in various parts of the globe will form a network to execute the projects. This paper provides background information on the work of the NRP in Southeast Asia, especially in countries where natural resource conservation problems have reached crisis status. Natural Resources in Southeast Asia Countries in Southeast Asia are considered to be relatively rich in both renewable and non-renewable natural resources.
Renewable resources are forests which offer a variety of commercial timber.
In general, these resources have been exploited for industrial purposes for over half a century and also exported to industrial countries. The villagers use firewood as the principal energy source, and timber is the primary building material. The average villager requires one to two tons of firewood each year. The supply of firewood and timber has been obtained freely in the past from the nearby forests. In Thailand the rate of increase of 3.1 per cent raised the population from 26.4 million in 1960 to 42.3 million in 1975.