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 …
globally, there are now 40 million adults and children suffering from aids, according to a new report by the World Health Organisation (who) and the Joint United Nations Programme on hiv/aids called unaids. The epidemic shows no signs of abating
banning logging is an important tool for halting the degradation of forests, but it seldom corrects the underlying causes of deforestation. This intriguing fact was recently stated in a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (fao). Moreover, the report claims that ban on logging harms forests and local communities …
Boron Nitride is the second hardest material known to us and is used extensively in cutting and grinding tools. It is usually made by mixing the two elements at very high temperatures and then squeezing the mixture at high pressures of about 500,000 times our atmospheric pressure. Chinese researchers have …
Why has a ban been imposed on shark hunting in particular? Sharks have a vital role in the marine ecosystem since they are the apex predator at the top of the marine food chain. But today they are almost extinct, being a major target of the fish hunters. Their slow …
according to a recent study by the us based non-governmental organisation Natural Resources Defense Council (nrdc), China has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 17 per cent in the four-year period from 1996 to 2000, even as its economy grew by 36 per cent. This reduction was the result of …
The entire transgenic cotton episode has exposed the weak underbelly of the government. Dragging its feet on a crucial issue has now landed the authorities in an inextricable mess. And has brought the world crashing around the poor farmers. It simply shows that not only can the powers that be …
Development and conservation can go hand in hand. This has been proved in Hong Kong with rail officials deciding to build a tunnel under a wetland after conservationists thwarted a move to run the tracks through the wetland. The government-owned Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation wanted to build a new train line …
China will soon set up a reserve for the endangered Siberian tigers. According to the us -based Wildlife Conservation Society (wcs), the protected area called Hunchun Reserve will be set up along China's border with Russia. The wcs , which is helping China to establish the reserve, recently marked the …
One-third of all young Chinese men would die due to smoking in the next few decades unless they change their lifestyle, states a new study by a team of international researchers. The prediction was made after researchers studied the case histories of Chinese who died in 1998 in Hong Kong. …
tens of millions of children could face starvation in 20 years time if the governments across the world do not focus on irrigation, education and agricultural research for poor countries, according to a new analysis. The analysis was performed by the world's most complex computer model of the global food …
the Himalayan state of Sikkim is a paradise for nature lovers. It is also thronged by those who want to exploit the area's biodiversity for financial gains. Two Russians were arrested on July 30, 2001, for illegally collecting insects in large quantity from the remote Yuksam forest of the Kanchenjunga …
To put it in a nutshell, the factors that have contributed to the lack of development of organic market in India include low awareness about the perils of chemically farmed products, high prices of organic produce, lack of consumer confidence in organic food standards and their erratic supply. Smritee Singh, …
The government's interventions have focused on promoting certified organic production, missing out the challenge of using the organic route to reward traditional, marginal farmers. This misplaced priority seems to be changing. A master plan for the production of organic coffee is almost ready. Formulated by the coffee board, the plan …
New regulations in China regarding the import of genetically modified (gm) products have created a furore in the us trade and political circles. According to the us department of agriculture, 68 per cent of us soybean falls under the gm category. "It is critical to our soybean exports that China …
The us President George Bush’s obdurate stance on climate change has driven negotiations under the critical un Framework Convention on Climate Change (unfccc) to a feverish pitch. The world has now two options
The world's first two dolphins conceived using the technique of artificial insemination have been born in Hong Kong. The technique could help save the endangered species. The two dolphins, one female and one male, were born in May 2001. Ada and Gina, the mother dolphins, were impregnated in June 2000. …
A new report claims that China has reduced its carbon dioxide (co2) emissions by 17 per cent since 1997 while its economy grew by 36 per cent. In the same period, co2 emissions of the us increased by 14 per cent. The report by the Natural Resources Defence Council ( …
