Ochi, Shiro 
  
  
  
700 
600 xc**'Ganges | 
  
  
500 
Mekong 
400 y m 
300 
  
     
   
indus 
  
200 
Cropland NPP(Million ton) 
    
Yellow 
  
100 
  
  
L 1 À 1 i 1 
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 
  
Population(Millon) 
  
  
  
Figure-5 Relation between CNPP and Population in 6 Major River Basins in Asia 
Table-3 Per capita productivity for 6 major river basins in Asia 
  
  
Basin Per capita CNPP Productivity 
(ton/cap) 
Mekong 9.09 High 
Amur 3.46 Medium 
Indus 3.46 Medium 
Ganges 1.93 Low 
Yangzhu 1.22 Low 
Yellow 0.95 Low 
  
4.2 Simulation 
Carrying capacity based on crop(cereal) production were estimated for these six river basins as shown in Table-4. 
Cropland areas were measured from USGS/IGBP land cover map for each river basin. Potential cropland was estimated 
by assuming if a half of existing forested area were converted to cropland. Because the Mekong and Amur river basins 
remain large amount of forest land, these two basins have more potential of cropland rather than other four basins where 
most land of the basins are already used for cropland or grassland. “Potential of per capita productivity” means that how 
many population can be supported by one unit of C-NPP in case one unit of C-NPP can support the same population 
realized in Yangzhu river basin(820 
Table-4 Population Carrying Capacity in Six Major River Basins 
  
  
Basin Cropland area Potential Potential of per capita Current Potential Population 
( 1 000sq.km) cropland* productivity (96) Population (million) 
(90) (million) 
Mekong 266.1 159 745 45.2 535 (1185%) 
Amur 233.3 314 284 60.6 540 (89296) 
Indus 370.7 101 174 172.8 302 (175%) 
Ganges 638.3 104 158 340.2 558 ( 16496) 
Yangzhu 617.4 108 100** 414.2 447 ( 10896) 
Yellow 151.9 105 77 135 2 109 ( 8196) 
  
Remarks : 
  
* a half of forest land is assumed to be converted to cropland 
** per capita CNPP is assumed same as of Yangzhu River Basin 
  
1056 International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol 
. XXXIII, Part B7. Amsterdam 2000.