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 …
OneWorld, the online sustainable development and human rights network, keeps at its mission of bridging the geographical and ideological gap among the developmental community. On May 17, the United Nations World Telecommunications Day, they entered another web initiative called the Digital Opportunity Channel (DOC) - a web portal and online …
THIS much-awaited report highlights the plight of the poor in these countries. The disparity between haves and have-nots have been documented in detail. The statistics are well highlighted. Take for example the painful fact that approximately 40 per cent of the population in India, Lesotho, Gambia, Tanzania, and several countries …
• Kochi has been selected as one of the centres for a major study, undertaken by the US-based Oakridge National Laboratory, to measure the phenomenon of global warming. • An innovative Green Card Yojana has been announced by the Madhya Pradesh government. The scheme is aimed at using foodgrain as …
environmental studies will now be compulsory for every undergraduate student in Delhi University (DU). The University Grants Commission (UGC) is introducing it as a mandatory six-month foundation course from July 2003. Environmental study courses at the postgraduate level are also being formulated. It is reported that the DU executive council …
The British government is set to appeal against a European Court of Human Rights ruling that has criticised frequent night flights at London's Heathrow airport. The reason: it could cost the taxpaying public a whopping US $2.9 billion. Significantly, it is felt in official circles that the grave financial implications …
A 1,070-kilometre oil pipeline project in Chad and Cameroon is expected to fetch them us $2 billion and us $500 billion respectively, over the project's 25-year lifespan. However, environmental and human rights groups have offered strong opposition to the project and asked for a moratorium on World Bank financing for …
This fortnight the Indian delegation to the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (wto) in Doha is going to stand out as the champion of the Third World, defending the poor of the world against the "rich man's organisation" in the words of our minister of commerce, Murasoli Maran. …
us president George W Bush's position on a recent trade agreement with Jordan sends mixed signals on the issue of whether his administration will enforce the use of labour and environmental safeguards in trade relations. The us-Jordan Free Trade Agreement (fta) was negotiated in October 2000. It is considered
A welcome stepM S Swaminathan i am happy that at last the Lok Sabha has passed the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Bill. This is a major step in incorporating the ethics and equity provisions of the convention on biological diversity in a sui generis system of varietal …
the first two weeks of May 2001, served as a reality check for the more idealist un reformists who envision a truly autonomous un body. In a couple of unexpected moves, that some might say were a result of the us' bullying and inconsiderate actions, two un governing bodies voted …
The recent historic declaration by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights at the conclusion of its 57th session in Geneva has addressed the link between environment and human rights. The Commission concluded that everyone has the right to live in a world free from toxic pollution and environmental degradation. …
the National Human Rights Commission (nhrc) has directed the Union rural development ministry to include provisions for the resettlement and rehabilitation of people displaced by land acquisitions for various projects in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. They could also be formulated by a separate legislation, said nhrc . In 1994, …
the Union ministry of mines ( mom ) proposal to amend the Fifth Schedule of the Indian constitution could take away the constitutional rights of the tribal communities over lands and other natural resources in the scheduled areas. The amendment
in the wake of Madhya Pradesh ( mp ) government's controversial decision to denotify parts of its reserve forests, the Supreme Court ( sc ) recently directed all state governments and Union territories not to denotify any area inside the 526 national parks and sanctuaries till further orders. The mp …
Get on with it The Supreme Court's go-ahead to the Sardar Sarovar Project ( ssp ) was long overdue. It is a good judgement. It lays down the framework within which the project can continue. This will ensure that the work on the dam moves forward swiftly. The message is …
Two Mexican environmentalist have been put behind bars for 10 years on charges of growing marijuana and possession of arms. The Sierra Club and Amnesty International, two non-governmental organisations, have condemned the conviction of Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera, the two environmentalists. According to them, Montiel and Cabrera were illegally …
The United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) human development report for 2000 has for the first time linked human rights to human development, particularly in the poverty eradication sector. "Human rights is not, as has sometimes been argued, a reward of development. Rather they are critical to achieving it," says Mark …
the Bhotiya villages of Lata, Reni, Jumma and Dunagiri wear a deserted look. Many houses are vacant. Most of the houses that are inhabited are managed by women as the men have migrated to neighbouring towns to earn a living. Migration and change is nothing new for these people. In …
Roy: I would say there are three major issues on which people should focus the discussion. Firstly, is that it is easier to take decisions regarding labour than capital. Is it something that can be changed. Secondly, can the environmentalist and the labour movements work together? If they want to …
on May 8, 1999, the Rural Litigation & Entitlement Kendra ( rlek ), a Dehradun-based non-governmental organisation ( ngo), moved an application with the National Human Rights Commission ( nhrc), saying that the Uttar Pradesh ( up ) government is not complying with nhrc 's orders which had directed the …
