The 20th Tanzania Economic Update (TEU) shows that accelerating a fertility decline has the potential to enable the country to reap the benefits of a demographic dividend, which refers to how improved health and reduced fertility can drive economic growth. When a country experiences better health outcomes and fewer births, …
Apes and Old World monkeys are prominent components of modern African and Asian ecosystems, yet the earliest phases of their evolutionary history have remained largely undocumented. The absence of crown catarrhine fossils older than ~20 million years (Myr) has stood in stark contrast to molecular divergence estimates of ~25–30 Myr …
Mudslides after torrential rains have killed 13 people at a quarry in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha, a senior government official said on Tuesday. Tanzania's buoyant economy has fuelled a building boom, especially in the centre of the tourist town but high demand for construction materials has led to …
Tanzania plans to raise spending by 17 percent in 2013/14 to 17.7 trillion shillings ($11 billion) with a focus on infrastructure projects, and aims to lift growth to 7 percent in 2013. The economy grew 6.9 percent in 2012 from 6.4 percent a year before, above the projected 6.8 percent, …
Bangladesh has been identified as one of the ‘star performers’ in the poverty reduction initiative globally as the world poverty is coming down rapidly. Some of the poorest people in the world are becoming significantly less poor, according to a groundbreaking academic study which has taken a new approach to …
The future of urbanization points to increasing agglomeration forces through which towns and cities merge into huge continuously built up areas with variations in the diversity of economic activity. This paper reports the results of a study of urban agglomeration trends in Eastern Africa and the implications for urban policy …
Renewable energy-based mini-grids can be an important alternative to, or enhance the effectiveness of, central grid extension as a way to increase access to reliable electricity services. While there are a number of challenges to implementing RE mini-grids, many of these can be addressed by well-conceived policy measures. In this …
The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Monday said that record number of people have become malnourished during the five long years of democratic rule in Pakistan. The policies of the government have pushed up the cost of food to unprecedented levels leaving majority of the population food insecure, said Dr. …
India will host the first ever global ministerial meet – 'E 50:50' – on elephants in the Capital from November 14 to 19. The conference, expected to be attended by 50 countries that harbour wild populations of elephants, will discuss conservation and welfare of elephants, according the Ministry of Environment …
Africa's biggest animals were poached in near record numbers in 2012, with surging demand for horn and ivory from Asia driving the slaughter of rhinos and elephants. By mid-December, poachers had killed 633 rhinos in South Africa, according to environment ministry figures. That marks a new annual peak in the …
Norway, which has led developed nations by investing billions of dollars to slow tropical deforestation, announced plans on Wednesday to step up its efforts as part of "first aid" to slow climate change. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, whose country is rich thanks to offshore oil and gas, said new measures …
A vaccine to combat malaria could become a reality by 2014. While currently there are no licensed vaccines against malaria or any other human parasite, a research vaccine against P. falciparum, known as RTS,S/AS01, is at an advanced stage. According to the WHO experts, the vaccine is currently being evaluated …
Illegal hunting poses a considerable threat to the wildlife of Serengeti National Park and its affiliated protected areas. Techniques for successful mitigation of this threat are heavily debated. Bottom-up community-based initiatives aim to curb poaching by linking local communities with wildlife conservation. Top-down anti-poaching enforcement of protected areas seeks to …
India continues to top the global pneumonia mortality charts, witnessing four lakh deaths of children every year. This translates into 1,095 children dying every day on account of a vaccine-preventable disease, which is also treatable with antibiotics. Worldwide, 13 lakh children died of pneumonia in 2011, with 30 per cent …
London: The peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro — world’s highest free-standing mountain — may be ice-free as soon as 2060, scientists have warned. Researchers with Nasa’s Earth Observatory, have found that between 1912 and 2011, the mass of ice on the summit of the 19,341ft dormant stratovolcano in Tanzania decreased by …
Groundwater recharge sustains the groundwater resources on which there is global dependence for drinking water and irrigated agriculture. For many communities, groundwater is the only perennial source of water. Here, we present a newly compiled 55-year record of groundwater-level observations in an aquifer of central Tanzania that reveals the highly …
Tanzanian police have seized more than 200 elephant tusks hidden in a coffin and in fertilizer bags, pointing to rising poaching in the east African country, officials said on Wednesday. "This is the biggest seizure of elephant tusks in Dar es Salaam in recent history. The tusks were really big, …
African farmers are finding new ways to cope with droughts, erosion and other ravages of climate change but need to develop even more techniques to thrive in an increasingly uncertain environment, scientists said on Friday. Smallholders have started to plant more drought-resistant and faster-growing crops to keep the harvests coming …
When environmental engineer John Feighery got an internship at NASA in the 1990s, he wanted to be an astronaut but he was given a job working with a team designing the U.S. bathroom for the space station. The small, closet-like space needed a toilet and room for hand washing, bathing …
Energy technology: Cheaper and better solar-powered electric lights promise to do away with kerosene-fuelled lanterns WHICH plastic gadget, fitting neatly in one hand, can most quickly improve the lives of the world’s poorest people? For the past decade the answer has been clear: the mobile phone. But over the next …
Many of the world's tropical protected areas are struggling to sustain their biodiversity, according to a study by more than 200 scientists from around the world. But the study published in Nature includes research focusing on a reserve in Tanzania by University of York scientists that indicates that long-term engagement …
