Disasters in Asia: the case for legal preparedness
This report highlights how better legislation can help to significantly reduce the human suffering caused by the growing number of natural disasters.
This report highlights how better legislation can help to significantly reduce the human suffering caused by the growing number of natural disasters.
The 4th International General Assembly of the World Forum of Fisher People (WFFP) was held at Negombo, Sri Lanka. The Assembly delegates recognized that all peoples in historically traditional fishing communities had a right to basic human rights, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which included basic socioeconomic rights.
After decades of market dominance, high profitability and the creation of strong shareholder value, Japan's nuclear utilities have seen their fortunes turn in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
This paper gives an overview of the geophysico-chemical groundwater conditions in Sri Lanka and the associated contemporary management challenges. Groundwater is extensively used in Sri Lanka today, for
Kakinada, April 18: The destruction of hundreds of acres of mangroves in East Godavari and Yanam (an Union territory of Puducherry) districts is worrying environmentalists and nature lovers. Sources say that industrialists and people with the help of political leaders are engaging in destroying the-se trees for preparation of illicitly-distilled (ID) liquor and for other reasons too.
A 12-member team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan on Monday for carrying out an in-depth safety review of two units of the atomic power station in the town. This is the first operational safety review team (OSART) mission in the country being conducted at the Union government’s request. The team comprises experts from the nuclear power plants of Canada, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden. The OSART mission will stay at the Rawatbhata plant till November 15. The review will check adherence to the nuclear regulator’s safety standards and proven good practices.
Of 17 recommendations of AERB, only six have been complied with, he says The safety measures recommended by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) are crucial and the Kudankulam nuclear power plant should not be allowed to be commissioned without implementing these measures, argued counsel Prashant Bhushan in the Supreme Court on Thursday. Appearing for petitioner G. Sundararajan, social activist, he submitted before a Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra that the AERB had recommended 17 safety measures, of which only six were complied with and 11 yet to be put in place.
When Baskaran, a fisherman in Nochikuppam, Chennai, is asked what the fisherfolk normally eat for breakfast
"... Your ministry is responsible for all the destruction and killing of 12,000 people on the coast..."
The archipelago of the Andaman and Nicobar islands consists of 572 islands; 35 are known to be inhabited. These are home to five tribes. The Jarawas, Sentinelese and Onges are Negrito tribes. The Andamanese have ceased to be a tribe and a pure-blood Andamanese is a rarity. The remaining two are mongoloid tribes, the Nicobarese and the Shompen.
Some suggestions were for a short term and would be completed in six months, while some were long-term The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) said the safety measures it had recommended to enhance safety at the Kudankulam nuclear plant would be implemented through the next two years. Last year, following the disaster at the nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan, the AERB had reviewed the safety of all nuclear power plants in the country. An AERB committee had recommended various factors be considered before loading fuel into the Kudankulam plant. However, AERB has faced criticism for agreeing to load the fuel without heeding the recommendations.
As Asia prepares to rebuild itself after the killer wave, it will take a lot more than just political bickering to prevent a similar situation from recurring
tsunami Answerability: Sri Lanka's president Chandrika Kumaratunga has got an inquiry initiated into the government's failings in averting the destruction caused by the tsunami waves on December 26,
Concerned about the serious threat posed by huge toxic material left in Union Carbide’s Bhopal plant after the 1984 gas tragedy, the Supreme Court on Thursday summoned top officials of the Union and MP government to suggest measures for its early disposal. A bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and S.J. Mukhopadhyaya sought the presence of Union environment and chemical secretaries and Madhya Pradesh’s secretary for “Bhopal gas tragedy rehabilitation department” on Friday to give “assistance” to the court as how 350 tones of toxic waste deposited in Carbide plant should be disposed off as early as possible.
KOLKATA, 11 APRIL: Tremors felt in several districts of the state due to an earthquake, measuring 8.5 on the Richer scale, that hit off the western coast of northern Sumatra, triggered panic in the city
Reports by the experts’ panel, came in handy for the Tamil Nadu government to give its approval for the Kudankulam nuclear power project downstate, it is learnt. The expert groups of both the central and state governments observed the proposed 2,000-Mw endeavour met current safety standards. Besides, officials say, rising power deficit also forced the J Jayalalithaa government to rethink its policy on Kudankulam. Tamil Nadu is reeling under power shortfall, recently prompting its government to seek the Centre’s intervention to overcome the crisis.
Disasters led by the Japan earthquake cost the world a record figure of more than $380 billion last year, a UN official said Monday. While countries are managing to control the disaster death toll,
Researchers claim India is losing its forests more rapidly than Brazil and Malaysia. They question the findings of the latest State of the Forest Report 2011 which highlights that forest cover has increased by nearly five per cent between 1997 and 2007 and is presently covering nearly 24 per cent of India’s geographical area. Researchers, including Jean-Philippe Puyravaud and Priya Davidar of Pondicherry University and William Lawrence of James Cook University assert that what the Forest Survey of India describe as forests, often consists of tree cover and poplar eucalyptus plantations.
A magnitude-6.6 quake struck off Indonesia's Sumatra island, the US Geological Survey reported on Wednesday. The quake, quite shallow at a depth of 26.6 miles (42 km), struck 130 miles (209 km) northwest of the Sumatra town of Bengkulu at 3:01 a.m. on Thursday (2001 GMT on Wednesday). It followed a magnitude-5.5 earthquake in the same area two and a half hours earlier.
A Central panel has assuaged fears surrounding the Kudankulam nuclear project, in Tamil Nadu. The 15-member panel, appointed in October, said the design of the 2,000-Mw nuclear project meets safety