In 2023, the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) recorded a total of 399 disasters related to natural hazards. These events resulted in 86,473 fatalities and affected 93.1 million people. The economic losses amounted to US$202.7 billion. The 2023 earthquake in Türkiye and the Syrian Arab Republic was the most catastrophic event …
Chikungunya was first reported in 1952 when it caused an epidemic on the Makonde plateau in Tanzania. The disease was called chikungunya, which, in Makonde meant that which bends up, to describe the stooped posture caused by the arthritic symptoms of the disease. Since then, the disease has been reported …
function table() { var popurl="image/20060930/10-table.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=450,height=450,scrollbars=yes") } the monsoon season in Assam is often time for fearful floods. But this year, the state was struck by a terrible drought. The weather office registered a rainfall deficit of more than 40 per cent between June and August. The shortfall has hit …
Having to write a happy story makes me uneasy. Ten journalistic years of persistently sifting for what's wrong in every event/statement has taken its toll. Cynicism, an assortment of palliatives, and antacids are canonical accessories of roving reporters. The need to be certain of the facts often makes one doubt …
function table() { var popurl="image/20060930/34.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=375,height=350,scrollbars=yes") } Drought-stricken Toowoomba, the second largest land-bound city in Queensland, Australia, has plans for an integrated water-management strategy
function table() { var popurl="image/20060930/43-table.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=575,height=500,scrollbars=yes") } It's been six months since the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (nrega) was launched. And now, the government and civil society organisations are at loggerheads over the "success' of the act. While government claims that nrega has achieved a success rate of over …
Wayward growth Since 2002, India has been the largest producer of sponge iron, also called direct reduced iron (dri), in the world. Today about 20 per cent of the sponge iron produced worldwide is made in India. The growth of this industry is touted as one of the major success …
This study quantifies the tangible, economic benefits of a nongovernmental organization's social forestry project to local people and analyzes the potential return from this investment in natural capital. The analysis was conducted in the Kumaun hill region of Uttaranchal, India, using participatory rapid appraisal, household survey, avoided cost method, and …
The Citizen Submissions on Enforcement Matters is administered by the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), a trilateral institution established by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States as part of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). The CEC received 55 submissions from June 1995 …
This article reviews the importance of tuna fisheries in the western and central Pacific Ocean to Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and examines whether current and proposed institutional mechanisms for tuna management are sufficient to promote long-term tuna-led development. Potential gains exist from cooperation on tuna management; however, it seems unlikely …
Since the energy shortage in 2001, there has been renewed interest in energy-generation projects in Brazil. Policy options under consideration include expansion of natural gas exploration and hydropower generation in the Amazon. This article analyzes environmental opposition to two projects, the Urucu pipeline and the Belo Monte Dam. Despite significant …
function table() { var popurl="image/20060831/8-table.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=320,height=550,scrollbars=yes") } ever since the West Bengal government cleared, in May 2006, Tata Motor's proposal of setting up a 426 hectares (ha) small car plant in Singur in Hooghly district, farmers' protests have been relentless. Their protests forced the government to redraw its land acquisition …
after the monsoon deluge, Mumbai has witnessed an outbreak of diseases such as malaria, dengue and leptospirosis, taking the death toll to 68 on August 2. The pace at which people are dying is alarming. Besides, Mumbai has recorded an increase in water-borne diseases like typhoid, hepatitis and gastroenteritis, caused …
This article examines Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) as a near-term strategy for reducing CO2 emissions in a typical medium-sized U.S. city. The paper compares the expected CO2 emissions from three scenarios to meet the city's growth in work trips by 2011: a no-build option that relies upon private automobiles and …
