The Global Gender Gap Index annually benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions (Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment). It is the longest-standing index tracking the progress of numerous countries’ efforts towards closing these gaps over time since …
now that the drama over the us presidential election has ended, it is time to understand what is in store. Domestic politics of the us has a direct bearing on most environmental negotiations, and us representatives seldom miss an opportunity to use it as an instrument of coercion, one example …
the controversial move by the Andhra Pradesh ( ap ) government to give the industry access to degraded forest lands for plantation and other agro-forestry activities through the Joint Forest Management ( jfm ) institutions has sparked off a storm of protests in the state. Over 600 Vana Suraksha Samitis …
knowing very well that brand new vehicles are failing onroad emission tests, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers ( siam ) conveniently turned a Nelson's eye towards the problem of manufacturing defects in vehicles. Instead it propagated good maintenance practices as a strategy to check harmful emissions from vehicles during …
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers ( siam ) organised a meeting to convince policy makers of the need for an inspection and maintenance ( i&m; ) system. But without accepting a warranty on its own emissions this amounts to saying that high emissions from poorly maintained vehicles are responsible …
the Southern perspective on the linkage between trade and environment, which has resulted in some conflicts between developed and developing countries, is moving from mere protests to more proactive proposals. Several South Asian countries are making serious attempts to consolidate their positions on how the link between environment and trade …
smack! A pie in the face of Frank Loy, the leader of the us delegation to the conference on climate change in the Hague. A young British girl threw the organisers into a tizzy, and immediately the civil society became a security risk. A Bangla-deshi non-governmental organisation ( ngo ) …
tornadoes, blizzards and floods are making the already miserable weather of Britain more unpredictable. Now, scientists are holding global warming responsible for the disasters, the most recent being the flash floods that ravaged many parts of the country. The weather crisis being faced by Britain is a result of mankind's …
the sixth conference of parties ( c o p -6) to the un Framework Convention to Climate Change ( unfccc ) is scheduled to be held at The Hague in the Netherlands from November 13 to 24. It might turn out to be the most crucial meeting of climate negotiations …
Small is beautiful. But not to the big people. Small doesn't help siphon funds. It doesn't give huge opportunities to contractors, politicians and bureaucrats. It requires a decentralised mode of thinking, which is diametrical to the motives of India's politicians and administrators
Atul Kaushik Hats off to Anil Agarwal for his insightful piece on Kashmir and environment. It is such rational thinking that can resolve the trade-environment debate. Uday Turaga The column you wrote on the issue and the perspective that you brought to the Kashmir issue is immensly creative and appealing. …
Sanjay K Srivastava IFS The article by Anil Agarwal is atrocious with heinous flavour and needs to be debated upon. We have umpteen number of officers who have served in such difficult areas where ‘Veerappans’ operate. Anil Bhardwaj IFS Anil Agarwal’s article is not at all a responsible statement. He …
Excerpts from letter to the editor from M Mahmood Husain, Chennai Forty years ago, Veerappan's haunts in Tamil Nadu forests were mine too, almost every one of them. Every nook and corner was intensely familiar for ten years or more, right from probationer days in the Forest Service. What memories …
Sometimes it is wonderful to have an opportunity to say, "we told you so." Particularly you feel strongly about the issue. A recent issue of Science (September 29, 2000) carries a comment from nine eminent us scientists and economists who argue that "equal per capita emission rights to the atmosphere" …
In our January 15, 2000 issue, Down To Earth had highlighted the situation in drought-struck areas of Gujarat. The conclusion was that villages with structures to harvest rainwater were faring much better than villages which had forgotten the value of rain (see:
Achampet mandal of Mahabubnagar district, Andhra Pradesh (AP), was in the clutch of drought six years ago. But it is doing well at present. “Satellite images show an improvement of about 300 per cent between February 1994 and March 1998 with regard to the groundwater table,” says Ramesh Reddy, head …
SEVERAL messages emerge from the analysis of crash programmes to harvest rainwater in Gujarat and ap. It is amply clear that the government of Gujarat has been much more successful in addressing the need of the hour than the AP government. POLITICIANS' RESPONSE: The way the political establishment has gone …
It was quite visible in several districts, whether it was Rajkot, Junagadh or Jamnagar in Saurashtra or Bhuj in Kachchh. People in several villages of these drought-prone regions looked a lot more confident in September 2000 about dealing with drought in the future. Barely four months ago, they had looked …
