In 2019, the illegal wildlife trade reached staggering levels. Pangolin scales and ivory were being trafficked in massive quantities from Africa to Asia, exposing a network of crime syndicates operating at an industrial scale. The sheer volume of these shipments marked a disturbing milestone, one that revealed the global reach …
The groundwater storage of North China Plain depleted at a rate of 7.2 ± 1.1 km3/yr from 2002 to 2014, or 6 to 8 billion tons each year since 2002, according to a research headed by a Chinese scientist. The team, led by Feng Wei, an associate Professor at Chinese …
A new report by UNCTAD, the UN Conference on Trade and Development, describes natural gas as a useful “bridge fuel” for States aiming to move towards more environmentally-friendly renewable power sources. But it has disadvantages too, not least the fact that its main component is methane gas, which has a …
A key component of achieving universal health coverage is ensuring that all populations have access to quality health care. Examining where gains have occurred or progress has faltered across and within countries is crucial to guiding decisions and strategies for future improvement. We used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, …
A massive hydropower station under construction by a Chinese company in Zambia has created nearly 10,000 jobs for low-income locals and promises to ease severe power shortage in the underdeveloped southern African country. Zambia, like many other African countries, is facing severe power shortage, where only 25 percent of its …
Freshwater availability is changing worldwide. Here we quantify 34 trends in terrestrial water storage observed by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites during 2002–2016 and categorize their drivers as natural interannual variability, unsustainable groundwater consumption, climate change or combinations thereof. Several of these trends had been lacking thorough …
Delhi is projected to become the most populous city in the world around 2028, according to new United Nations estimates released here on Wednesday, which said India is expected to add the largest number of urban dwellers by 2050. The 2018 Revision of World Urbanisation Prospects produced by the Population …
India set a new record with 9.6 GW of solar installations in 2017, which was more than double the 4.3 GW installed in 2016 India emerged as the third largest solar market in the world in 2017 behind China and the US, Mercom Communications India said in a report. "In …
Today, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 68% by 2050. Projections show that urbanization, the gradual shift in residence of the human population from rural to urban areas, combined with the overall growth of the world’s population could add …
BEIJING - Coal burning is no longer a major source of PM2.5 in Beijing, while car emissions have become the top cause, according to a study released by Beijing's environment watchdog Monday. The new findings come as Beijing is encouraging the use of natural gas instead of coal for winter …
Disaster preparedness is critical for reducing potential impact. This paper contributes to current knowledge of disaster preparedness using representative national sample data from China, which faces high earthquake risks in many areas of the country. The adoption of earthquake preparedness activities by the general public, including five indicators of material …
Economic globalization and concomitant growth in international trade since the late 1990s have profoundly reorganized global production activities and related CO2 emissions. Here we show trade among developing nations (i.e., South–South trade) has more than doubled between 2004 and 2011, which reflects a new phase of globalization. Some production activities …
Myanmar has seen an increase in the number of elephants killed over the past several years, with some of the carcasses found skinned. A report by the U.K.-based conservation group Elephant Family has identified growing demand for elephant skin products from Myanmar’s giant neighbor, China, which it blames for driving …
Due to its complex polyploidy nature (hexaploid, containing A, B and D three subgenomes) and large genome size (17 Gb), the genetic and functional analysis of bread wheat is extremely challenging. The A genome, originates from the diploid wild einkorn wheat Triticum urartu with a genome size about 5 Gb, …
CAIRO (Reuters) - China’s GCL Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Egypt’s ministry of military production to build a solar panel facility at a cost of up to $2 billion, state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported on Thursday. Under the MOU, which was signed on Wednesday, the facility will …
Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are essential for sustainable development because of their links to gender equality and women’s wellbeing, their impact on maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health, and their roles in shaping future economic development and environmental sustainability. Yet progress towards fulfilling SRHR for all has …
Tourism accounts for around 8 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study that marks the first attempt to quantify the industry’s total carbon footprint. In an ambitious paper published in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change, an international team of scientists has quantified the environmental …
Deposition and accumulation of light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosol on glacier surfaces can alter the energy balance of glaciers. In this study, 2 years (December 2014 to December 2016) of continuous observations of carbonaceous aerosols in the glacierized region of the Mt. Yulong and Ganhaizi (GHZ) basin are analyzed. The average elemental …
Tourism contributes significantly to global gross domestic product, and is forecast to grow at an annual 4%, thus outpacing many other economic sectors. However, global carbon emissions related to tourism are currently not well quantified. Here, we quantify tourism-related global carbon flows between 160 countries, and their carbon footprints under …
CHENNAI: Claiming that overwhelming dependence of drugs and raw materials from China, particularly those for cancer treatments, could prove harmful those for the health sector in India, a Chennai-based pharmaceutical company has approached the Madras high court to direct the Centre to provide more preference to indigenous manufacturers in procurement …
Economic growth performance in the Asia-Pacific region continues to improve on the back of firmer global demand and stable inflation. The tasks at hand are to ensure that such economic performance is sustained over time, that it benefits everyone and that any adverse environmental implications are minimal.
