The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
This document provides people’s insights on why some sanitation interventions successes and others fail. The study showed that awareness among the people about the importance of sanitation and hygiene for better health was higher than expected.
The recent Supreme Court judgement holding the appointment of Salwa Judum cadres in Chhattisgarh a violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution comes as a political embarrassment for the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which has consistently tried to upscale local resistance (read Salwa Judum) to the …
Some commercial firms that oversee the ethics and scrutiny of clinical trials have been found wanting. Human volunteers in research deserve better. (Editorial)
The Supreme Court is to be commended for its order banning the Salwa Judum. But the Salwa Judum was already a thing of the past; its worst phase was in 2005-06. The violence now in the amoral war in Chhattisgarh is being conducted as part of Operation Greenhunt. When will …
In the year that saw the establishment of a new UN agency for women, minority and indigenous women faced systematic violence, discrimination and marginalization. Both their identity as women and their membership of disadvantaged communities placed them at risk. This year’s edition of State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous …
This report highlights deficiencies in the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) undertaken by Vedanta Resources Plc for its proposed bauxite mine in Niyamgiri, Orissa, its alumina refinery in Lanjigarh, Orissa, and the proposed expansion of this refinery. Vedanta Resources Plc is a UK-registered mining company with strong Indian connections. It owns …
Social equity is the least understood of the 3 E’s (equity, economic efficiency and environmental sustainability) in the concept of integrated water resources management. This new Global Water Partnership Technical Committee Background Paper, “Social Equity and Integrated Water Resources Management”, sets out an overarching framework for the analysis of equity …
A clinical trial that came under fire in India threatens to have a dual legacy: inflaming unfounded fears about a lifesaving vaccine and raising new questions about the management of medical research in the country. http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110622/pdf/474427a.pdf
Biofuels could help poor nations modernize, but scaling up aid supported projects to commercial operations is far from easy. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v474/n7352_supp/full/474S018a.html
Factories making Apple iPads and iPhones in China are forcing staff to sign pledges not to commit suicide, an investigation by two international NGOs, Centre for Research on Multinational Companies and Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbe-haviour, revealed. At least 14 workers at Foxconn factories in China have killed themselves …
The Planning Commission’s High Level Expert Group has given its provisional progress report on developing a framework for universal health coverage. Its mandate is to suggest a strategy for universal health coverage rather than a universal healthcare system. The latter would be geared to a progressive socialisation of healthcare based …
Tea grown on the steep slopes of Darjeeling hills, connoisseurs swear, is unlike anywhere else in the world. Epicures use a plethora of adjectives to describe the “champagne of teas”: brisk, flowery, round, mellow and sparkling. Brewed properly, the Darjeeling tea leaves yield a thin-bodied, light-coloured liquor with a floral …
Order of the Supreme Court dated 13/05/2011 in W.P (C) No. 213 of 2011 Democratic Youth Federation of India Versus Union of India in the matter of endosulfan use.
Reacting to a report published in The Hindu, which told the story of illegal employment of children and their plight in the coal mines of Hazaribagh district, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to Jharkhand Chief Secretary Ashok Kumar Singh seeking a report within four weeks on …
High prices and concerns about energy security in the oil and gas industry are driving expansion into ever more sensitive environments with greater technological, political and social risks. While brands such as BP, Shell and ExxonMobil are well known, some 70 per cent of oil and gas industry activities are …
What’s really in your cuppa? - A special investigation into the hidden costs of tea, milk and sugar. http://files.theecologist.org/Pdfs/Whats_in_your_cuppa.pdf
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has opened for comment the Zero Draft of the "Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land and Other Natural Resources." The Zero Draft addresses issues including: guiding objectives and principles of responsible tenure governance; policy, legal and organizational frameworks; …
