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 …
Armed conflict and civil strife were major sources of food insecurity in the 1990s and will continue to be this century, although their number and the losses associated with them may have passed their peak. Depending on which of the various definitions of the term is used, from 30 to …
Armed conflict and civil strife were major sources of food insecurity in the 1990s and will continue to be this century, although their number and the losses associated with them may have passed their peak (see Figure 13). Depending on which of the various definitions of the term is used, …
biotechnology and bioresources are two issues that have been in conflict for a while. Biotechnology, proposed as "the technology of the next century', has its proponents in the developed countries and users in developing countries. But with companies in the North taking the bioresources from the South, patenting them and …
The Iban tribals of Indonesia have a beautiful tale about the man of the woods. The father of an Iban died. His body was laid out for the night, awaiting rituals in the morning. The next day, when the son came to the corpse, he found it was not his …
United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) will provide a total of US $300 for child welfare programmes in India. An agreement, signed by Kiran Aggarwal, secretary department of women and child development and Alan Court, UNICEF representative in India, will be operative till December 2002. The objective of the programme is …
when the search is on for effective and sustainable supplies of renewable energy, it is surprising that bamboo, noted for their fast growth and high production, have not been considered as a potential source of what is also referred to as "green gasoline'. The energy generated from sunlight per hectare …
Scientists at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Manila, have developed a new strain of rice, which they claim has more iron and gives more yield per hectare, taking less land and time to grow. Called "super rice', it may hopefully belie the grim predictions of famine that half the …
Glaciers , the huge and seemingly sedate rivers of ice, are the source of life and, ironically, death too. These masses not only add to the serene and pristine beauty of the higher reaches of the Himalaya, they are also the source of north Indian rivers. Thus, with global warming …
B etween 40 and 50 million years ago, the Indian subcontinent collided with the rest of the Asian landmass. This collision caused the Earth's crust to buckle and rise forming the Himalaya. The uplift of the Himalaya was a gradual process over a long period. As the elevation of the …
On august 4, 1985, a moraine-dammed glacial lake, Dig Tsho, burst in the Khumbu Himal area of Nepal. Within four to six hours, the lake had emptied into Lagmoche valley, one of the tributary valleys of the river Bhote Kosi, which flows along many Sherpa settlements. For more than 90 …
The stories of conquest and depredation of alang alang grass and gypsy moth show how serious the unfettered invasion of alien life forms (both zoological and botanical) can become. A native of South Asia, and a valued source of thatch, alang alang grass is a weed whose economic importance is …
a study conducted by scientists from five countries including the us and Canada stated that Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian authorities should work together to preserve aquatic eco-systems in the region. Fresh water supplies in the Middle East now are barely sufficient to maintain a quality standard of living, said Gilbert …
T he collapse of a landmark anti-tobacco case in the uk has severely hit prospects of a us -style litigation against tobacco companies. While this had been successful in the us , where states had sued tobacco companies to recover the costs for treating smoking-related illnesses, the withdrawal of their …
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has called upon various governments to closely work with the Convention to Combat Desertification, a body fighting for reversal of dryland degradation. "The most effective actions for preventing dryland degradation are often the same actions needed to protect biological diversity or minimise the risk …
OF LATE there has been a growing awareness in South Asia to the new dangers posed by persistent organic pollutants (POPS), often referred to as the "dirty dozen". Pops are toxic organic compounds which, once released, continue to linger in the atmosphere and can pose serious health risks in the …
THE price of fuel oil has always played a major role in shaping global events in the 20th Century. Many would like to link the collapse of the communist bloc to the big tumble that the price of oil took in 1984. A fall therefore in the price of oil …
IT HAS been made patently clear that government designed and implemented conservation projects flounder if local communities are not included in the decisionmaking process. It is the indigenous people who live close to natural resources, and who directly depend on them for meeting their daily requirements. Therefore, it is they …
THEY are small and they are Asia's lifeblood. What are we talking about? The omnipresent two-stroke engine. Throughout the continent, these provide low-cost transportation to millions but, ironically, they are killers. The cloud of thick blue smoke seen often in crowded city intersections throughout the region - Delhi, Bangkok, Taipei, …
NO ONE understands the value and significance of natural resources better than traditional societies. A realisation of the importance of these resources coupled with animistic beliefs may be the reasons why many traditional societies have been preserving a portion of natural ecosystems as "sacred groves" for centuries. Sacred groves are …
THE first South Asia Public Hearing on Large Dams scheduled to be held on September 21-22, has been postponed. The hearing, organised by the World Commission on Dams (WCD) was postponed on the request of the Planning Commission which said it was not the right time for such a hearing …
