The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
With 4 years until 2015, it is essential to monitor progress towards Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5. Although estimates of maternal and child mortality were published in 2010, an update of estimates is timely in view of additional data sources that have become available and new methods developed. …
South Asian nations agreed on Thursday to work to promote closer energy links for electricity grids and power generation, a senior energy official said. Energy ministers from the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) - bringing together Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - finished …
South Asian countries must not allow their beaches to be used as dumping grounds for the chemically contaminated and extremely hazardous ships from the western countries. The ship-breaking in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh has been causing serious environmentally-hazardous issues as the poor and the marganilsed people are forced to work …
This is Nepal's Investment Plan for funding under the Scaling-up Renewable Energy Program (SREP). The objectives of SREP in Nepal are to: leverage complementary credit, grant and private sector equity cofinancing, bring about transformational impacts through scaling up energy access using renewable energy technologies (RETs), poverty reduction, gender and social …
The Wild Life Department of Sri Lanka today announced that the wild elephant survey carried out from August 11 till 14 has revealed that an elephant population of 5,879 currently exist in the country. Wild Life Minister S.M. Chandrasena told a press conference that 1,107 out of the total 5,879 …
There is a need to make efforts to protect white back vultures, which have decreased to 50 to 70 in number according to a recent survey of the World Wide Fund for Nature. September 3 is the International Vulture Awareness Day and its aim is to highlight vulture conservation and …
Agricultural development towards food, nutrition and livelihood security is high on the political agenda in Sri Lanka. A number of national programmes (e.g. Api Wawamu Rata Nagamu 2007-2010 and Divi Neguma) have focussed on achieving greater self-sufficiency at household level in order to reach a higher GDP in the agricultural …
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a global health and developmental emergency, as they cause premature deaths, exacerbate poverty and threaten national economies. In 2008, they were the top killers in the South-East Asia region, causing 7.9 million deaths; the number of deaths is expected to increase by 21% over the next …
With less than one percent of the world’s area, Nepal is home to a disproportionately large number of plant species. Yet large numbers of the population are food insecure, and hunger and malnutrition are prevalent. Statistics show that the situation has worsened during the past two decades. The worst-affected segments …
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20) to be held in June 2012 will have green economy as one of its two main themes. This paper has been prepared to strengthen arguments for discussing mountain issues at Rio+20 and in other global discourses. The aim is to …
Sustainable management of the natural resource base supporting agriculture is one of the three major strategic objectives of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (CRP5) combines the resources of 14 CGIAR and numerous external partners to provide an integrated …
The massive scale of urbanization in South Asia is expected to create a surge in demand for solid waste services. An enormous opportunity exists to improve upon the “business-as-usual” approach of uncollected waste and open dumping witnessed throughout the region and to convert this waste into value-added resources, such as …
The Asian Coalition for Community Action Program (ACCA) is a three-year program of the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR), and the program’s target is to support a process of city-wide upgrading in 150 Asian cities. Community people are the primary doers in planning and implementing projects in which they …
The purpose of this assessment is to identify the constraints to and opportunities for women‘s participation in REDD+ initiatives, particularly as country REDD+ readiness plans are being developed, as well as to reveal the potential impacts of gender relations on REDD+ initiatives and vice versa. Additionally, this study aimed to …
This document provides a framework to support improved access to safe water for low-income communities through the enhancement of water facilities. It is intended to help WaterAid’s partner organisations in Nepal deliver safe water facilities to the communities they work with. This document will reinforce WaterAid’s initiatives for ensuring the …
This training manual is intended to help to WaterAid in Nepal’s partners and stakeholders train community leaders in developing integrated plans for managing water resource at community level.
This report is based on the outcome of discussions during a roundtable conference on ’Blue Revolution: Charting South Asia’s Water Future’ organised on 11 April, 2011, by ORF in collaboration with PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The ORF report is an attempt to list out the probable areas of …
Review of current practices and criteria used to integrate environmental and social aspects into urban infrastructure development processes in cities in Asia and the Pacific.
In this report, Christian Aid calls on donors and national governments to increase their support for sustainable small-holder farming to avert rising hunger and poverty caused by climate change. The report documents how sustainable farming techniques have led to increased crop yields, incomes, food security, soil and water conservation, resilience …
