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 …
Steamed Napoleon wrasse, one of the must-haves in most Manila restaurants, may soon be off the platter. Hunting this vanishing species could hasten its extinction, the World Wide Fund for Nature has said recently. The conservation group issued the warning after receiving reports that several restaurants in the Philippine capital …
Sixteen countries from the Asia-Pacific region recently signed an agreement to boost energy efficiency and curb greenhouse gas emissions in the region. The Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security was signed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its six regional partners at a summit in Cebu, …
Noxious fumes from chemical wastes dumped into a river in the town of Marilao in the Philippines, forced thousands of residents to flee their homes in the last week of November. Residents complained of dizziness and vomiting. Latest reports note that the fumes had caused 16 children and 31 adults …
• Tonnes of deadly toxic waste, which killed 10 people and made thousands ill in Ivory Coast were recently shipped out of the country in sealed containers, bound for a treatment plant in France. • who, in its recent report, has noted that many deaths caused by TB in developing …
• Philippines president Gloria Arroyo banned fishing in the waters of Guimaras, which needs rehabilitation from an oil spill that has occurred in early August. Local leaders, residents, and a group of militant fishermen unanimously resisted the ban, saying the move would result in a national fish crisis and affect …
As a part of major reforms for the fishery sector, 14 countries agreed to cut trawling and push net fishing to reverse the growing production of low-value
• African country Chad has ordered two major foreign oil firms, US firm ChevronTexaco and Malaysia's Petronas, responsible for 60 per cent of its oil production, to quit the country in a row over taxes. The decision now leaves only Exxon Mobil in the consortium, which handles the country's oil …
The Association of South-East Asian Nations (asean) recently signed a trade agreement with the us, which experts say will lead to more trade and investment alliances between the two regions . The agreement was signed between the us trade representative Susan Schwab and ministers of the 10 asean countries (Brunei, …
blind eye: An environment court of New Zealand has rejected the first part of the Greenpeace appeal, which opposed re-firing of the Marsden B coal power station, near Whangarei district, due to its impact on global warming. The court said that effects on climate change is a national issue and …
The mining sector in Asia has often been characterized more by poor rather than by good environmental management. Thus, "mining and the environment' occupy contested terrain. This article focuses mainly on the small-scale mining sector, with examples drawn from the region.
This document contains the White paper presented at Workshop on climate change and disaster losses: understanding and attributing trends and projections at Hohenkammer, Munich during 25
Two cooperatives operating in South Cotabato in the Philippines were recently charged for violating several provisions of their respective environmental compliance certificates by the country's environment department. Both cooperatives violated a compliance certificate condition that required a buffer zone of at least 20 metres from major rivers or waterways with …
The Filipino government has imposed a fine on a unit of Lafayette Mining Ltd, Australia, for two cyanide spills that contaminated the water system on Rapu-Rapu island. An initial fine of us $198,000 was levied, together with an additional fine of us $3,790 per day, until Lafayette Philippines Inc complies …
http://www.focusweb.org North versus South With the privileged North calling the shots in global development policies, the view of South remains neglected. Keeping this in mind,
Greenpeace, a non-profit organisation, has apologised for the damage caused to 160 sq metre of coral reef by its ship Rainbow Warrior ii, in Philippines, on October 31, 2005. The reef is a 32,000-hectare formation in the Sulu Sea in central Philippines that is listed by the un Educational, Scientific …
The objective of this article is to study the implications of changes in land use induced by economic growth, economy-wide policies, and governance on deforestation and forest-induced atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions. Economic growth, democracy, and trade policy explain an important share of the variation in two key determinants of deforestation: …
Major countries producing and consuming tropical timber have failed to arrive at an agreement to ensure the wood traded came from sustainably managed forests. Before it could even broach the issue, the July 26-30, 2004 meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, got caught in a logjam over the very scope of the …
