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 …
China installed its first commercial wind farm near the city of Shantou. The 24-mega-watt wind farm was put up by Dutch and Chinese developers. It is the largest commercial wind farm in Asia that has not been subsidised. The plant represents 25 per cent of the nations total wind capacity …
At a recent session of the Provincial People's Congress at Guangdong province, China, a group of representatives submitted a bill proposing a ban on eating wild animals. Meat of wild animals is a traditional cuisine in China. Guangdong province has a reputation as a gourmet heaven for those who have …
Even though farmers all over the world fear that grain yields are plateauing, Yuan Longping, the director of the National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Centre in Hunan Province, China says that a big jump in rice productivity is round the corner. Yuan claims he is on the verge of …
In an attempt to combat pollution in Beijing, the city municipal government has decided to issue special environmental protection licences for vehicles that meet the emission standards set by the government. Those vehicles which do not meet these standards would be seized and destroyed. The government has also decided to …
A solution to Beijing's air pollution problems will require cooperation from the whole society, as well as the government, said a local environmental official. In an interview with China Daily, Yu Xiaoxuan, deputy director of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, said that environmental awareness has spread among the government officials …
Environment ministers of Korea, Japan and China have agreed to boost cooperation among the three countries to prevent further environmental pollution in Far East Asia. "We shared the view that the three-way cooperation in the field of environment is extremely important and indispensable, because dynamic economic development has been deteriorating …
The Chinese government is taking steps to accelerate the development and use of electric and alternative fuel vehicles. Vice-minister for science and technology Deng Nan said initial results have been achieved in developing automobiles which run on clean fuel. "Developing environment-friendly motor vehicle technology in line with China's resources is …
The people of China are hoping that last summers flood, the worst since 1954 in the Yangtze River, will be a warning to the authorities that they can no longer take the environment for granted ( Down To Earth , Vol 7, No 10). Over the last few months the …
Chinese officials are calling for a crackdown on the dumping of medicines by drug manufacturers engaged in price wars. "The practice should be banned,' said a spokesperson for the State Economic and Trade Commission. The root of the problem lies in the current price war caused by a nation-wide overproduction …
Glaciologists are arguing on the speed at which the Himalayan glaciers are reteating. Doubts have been raised on the IPCC Report. Read this report on Himalayan glaciology by Syed Hasnain which is leading to the controversy. Glacier research conducted during the last quarter of 20th century in the Himalaya Karakoram …
An ambitious reforestation plan has been unveiled in China. All logging in non-commercial woodlands will be banned soon. State forestry bureau director Wang Zhibao said the plan would focus on reforestation along the Yangtze and Yellow rivers. "Forests will be re-classified into public-interest and commercial zones," he said. Commercial logging …
Thanks to the comprehensive use of wastewater and solid waste material, northwest China's Gansu Province yielded economic benefits worth over US $49 million. The province discharges 240 million cubic metre of waste industrial gases, 35,000 tonnes of wastewater and more than 16 million tonnes of solid waste material each year. …
The 5,462 km-long Yellow River, also known as 'China's sorrow', for its disastrous floods over the centuries, is drying up. The second largest river of the country, Hwang Ho has become the victim of excessive water use and pollution. To save the river, a group of Chinese conservationists, the Yellow …
PHYSIOLOGICAL features distinguish Negroids from Mongoloids. And one could never think they could have a common ancestors. But a team of international scientists have a piece of advice: don't judge a book by its cover. According to them, most of the Chinese population has genes of African descent. Difficult to …
Beijing has adopted a resolution to protect trees which are facing a threat from urban expansion programmes. This is for the first time that a legislative method has been used by the Beijing administration to protect its environment. Till now, the effort was restricted to publicity campaigns and imposition of …
A ban on logging will be imposed in the Jinsha river basin in the Yunnan province of China. The authorities have planned to launch a reforestation drive to check floods in the future. Massive floods have wrecked havoc in China in the past few months. Earlier, a similar ban on …
Despite the claims made by the Chinese authorities about an improved flood management system, the floods in northeast China have killed 2,000 people and left 14 million people homeless. Analysts believe that the situation would worsen if the Three Gorges Dam on the river Yangtze is built. Though the authorities …
During the 1960s and 1970s, when modernisation and development first hit the Third World, the water buffalo was rejected as an unfit animal as far as its economic utility was concerned. But their thinking isn't the same anymore. "Water buffalo is not merely a work animal but a dependable producer …
As flood waters started to recede, the Chinese authorities began to count the cost of almost four months of devastating floods and draw up a plan to help millions get back on their feet. In northeastern China, water levels in the swollen Songhua and Nenjiang rivers were still high but …
China is fighting a "life and death" battle against rising floodwaters which have posed a serious threat to the country's oil hub at Daqing. The Yangtze river is flowing above the danger mark. Government officials said they would blast the dyke to save cities downstream. More than 300,000 people have …
