The world is getting warmer and natural hazards are becoming more intense, likely bringing higher economic losses in the future. Today, four major weather perils result in expected economic losses of USD 200 billion annually. With more severe weather coming, economic losses are set to rise. The study analysis finds …
DENILIQUIN, Australia: Lindsay Renwick, the mayor of this dusty southern Australian town, remembers the constant whir of the rice mill. "It was our little heartbeat out there, tickety-tick-tickety," he said, imitating the giant fans that dried the rice, "and now it has stopped." The Deniliquin mill, the largest rice mill …
THE World Bank has issued an urgent call to rich nations to help stem rising food prices, warning that social unrest in poor countries is spreading and that 100 million people are at risk of being plunged deeper into poverty. "We have to put our money where our mouth is …
The Philippines is mounting an ambitious bid to achieve self-sufficiency in rice within three years as a policy of relying on imports to cover production shortfalls unravels amid tightening global supply and soaring world prices. The government is hoping the Philippines, the world's biggest rice importer, will be able to …
Brazil Troops Start Anti-Dengue Foot Patrols BRAZIL: April 9, 2008 RIO DE JANEIRO - Hundreds of Brazilian soldiers swapped ammunition packs for yellow bags of mosquito larvicide on Tuesday, taking the battle against a deadly dengue fever epidemic to the streets of Rio de Janeiro. The outbreak of the mosquito-borne …
Philippines To Import Ethanol From Brazil, Thailand INDIA: April 3, 2008 MUMBAI - The Philippines plans to import about 170 million litres of ethanol from Brazil and Thailand in 2009, Archie Amarra, executive director of Philippines Sugar Millers Association Inc, said on Wednesday. The Philippine government had passed a biofuel …
power of the big Banana: A court of appeals in the Philippines recently sided with the banana growers and exporters of the country and allowed the continuation of aerial spraying of pesticides. The city government of Davao had banned aerial spraying of pesticides saying aerial spraying of toxic chemicals harms …
Philippine fast-food chains are to begin offering half servings of rice in a move to help the government ease demand for the staple and avert a possible shortage with global rice inventories sitting at 25-year lows. Jollibee Foods, the country's biggest restaurant chain, with more than 600 stores, said its …
The bruising treatment of youngsters in many parts of the world, and the use of child soldiers in war-torn parts of Africa emerged as a recurring theme at the 10-day Berlin International Film Festival that concluded on February 17. War Child, a documentary by first-time German director Christian Karim Chrobog …
Philippines recently ordered Novartis to pull out its anti-arthritis painkiller from the country. It is feared that the drug lumiracoxib, also sold as prexige, causes liver damage. The Bureau of Food and Drugs, the health regulators in the country, said the risks were greater than the benefits and cited reports …
bay dredging gets a go-ahead: A controversial plan to deepen the Port Phillip Bay in the Australian city of Melbourne will go ahead after project opponents lost a legal challenge in the federal court. The project by the Port of Melbourne Corporation plans to dredge 23 million cubic metres of …
This study examines the major health, water, environmental, tourism and other welfare impacts associated with poor sanitation in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The impact measurement reported in the study focuses mainly on a narrow definition of sanitation ? human excreta management and related hygiene practices. The measurement of …
This article discusses the acute and chronic health effects of pesticide exposure among Filipino rice farmers. Data were collected from 50 farmers during 2002 and 2003 using a semi-structured questionnaire to elicit demographic information, various aspects of farming life, types and extent of pesticide use, exposure means, and self-reported acute …
This paper, together with five other background studies, is a part of a broader research programme addressing trade and structural adjustment issues in non-member economies which was conducted as a follow-up to Trade and Structural Adjustment: Embracing Globalisation (OECD, 2005)which identified policies for successful trade-related structural adjustment. This paper revisits …
Agriculture in Developing Countries : Technology Issues presents an experimental approach of testing new possibilities and combinations to match the changes taking place in the agricultural production environment of developing countries. While emphasizing the importance of combining scientific and indigenous knowledge, this book argues that sustained agricultural development can be …
Environmental groups have condemned an Australian company's plan to dump tonnes of urea into Philippine waters as part of an experiment called ocean fertilization to combat climate change. The coalition has written to the Philippines government and demanded the experiment be stopped until all scientific issues on the claims are …
The European Commission on October 15 approved a one-year extension of anti-dumping duties on imports of energy-saving light bulbs from China, despite protests from environmentalists, leading bulb manufacturers and several member nations. Many of these European bulb manufacturers, such as Italian lighting company Targetti and the Dutch-based Philips, have their …
Tuna canneries in Mindanao, the Philippines, have cut production by two-thirds due to a global drop in tuna catch. Local fisherfolk say that the yield in July and August was the lowest in the past 20 years. Tuna landings in the Philippines have reduced drastically since 2005. In 2004, Food …
The Philippine Coconut Authority is promoting biodiesel produced from coconut as an environment and engine-friendly renewable fuel for vehicles. Coconut biodiesel is a methyl ester derived from coconut oil. It is produced by the etherification of coconut oil and alcohol in the presence of a base catalyst. Due to its …
If the Doha Round of negotiations of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is stalemated, a great part of it is because of the resistance of small farmers, including those in Asia. One of the terrible truths of the 20th century is that it was a blight on small farmers or …
