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 …
Agricultural water management (AWM) is generally perceived as a key step towards improving low yielding smallholder farming systems in sub-Sahara Africa, South Asia and Latin America. This paper aims to give a first overview of
NAGESH KUMAR THE fifteenth SAARC summit over the coming weekend in Colombo will confront many challenges. While the recent bombings will highlight the menace of cross-border terrorism, it will be important to advance the agenda of economic cooperation, especially in the context of global slowdown and the collapse of Doha …
The leaders of the South Asian countries are set to issue a separate statement on food security, apart from the SAARC declaration, focussing on activating the regional food bank with an initial outlay of 2.5 lakh tonnes and enhancing cooperation in agriculture for boosting production.
South Asia's well-water is widely polluted with arsenic, but no one has located the source. A study on the Mekong River finds that contamination begins in pond sediments, and is spread by groundwater flow to wells.
The welfare and protection of migrant workers should be part of SAARC agenda as South Asia provides 15 lakh workers to labour-receiving countries every year, government and ILO officials said on Monday. As 43 per cent of the South Asian migrant workers serve in other South Asian countries, the incorporation …
South Asia, consisting of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Afghanistan, is among the most vulnerable and highly sensitive regions to the impact and consequences of climate change. It is known to be the most disaster prone region in the world supporting a huge population of more …
Governance in the water sector is crucially important since the overarching goal of water security is to ensure the mitigation of global water crisis. Water security in mainland South Asia (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan) hinges upon the fulfillment of two conditions. One is the avaiability or supply of …
The recent trends of rising world food prices have received wide attention in South Asia due to their potential impact on the food security of its population. Although countries in the region have achieved near food self-sufficiency at the national level, most of them continue to be net importers of …
THE bicycle rickshaws that weave through New Delhi's narrow lanes have long been scorned by authorities here for congesting the city's already fierce traffic. The creaking carriages crawl alongside luxury sedans, book hawkers, horse-drawn carts, hulking buses and cows, said a report published in The Washington Post. In this city …
It will provide a shorter route to north-eastern States Jairam Ramesh is on a four-day visit to Myanmar India to sign four pacts for economic cooperation India will seek to accelerate the path-breaking Kaladan multi-modal transit project that will provide an alternative route to the north-eastern states and later to …
The South Asian rivers show a discharge weighted average NO3-N of 2 mg/l and average sediment-bound N, that is mostly organic, of 0.2%. The reported global average for the uncontaminated river system is of the order of about 0.028 mg/l (NO3-N). Hence, our freshwater aquatic systems can no longer be …
This paper reviews the Copenhagen Consensus 2008 Challenge Paper on Air Pollution by Bjorn Larsen, Guy Hutton and Neha Khanna. The challenge paper addresses the impacts of air pollution in both indoor and outdoor environments; however, the perspective paper is limited to outdoor urban air pollution. In this challenge paper, …
concerns over a possible attack of Ug99 on wheat crops in Pakistan is soaring high. But officials in the country have said the globetrotting infectious wheat fungus has not reached croplands there. "There is no such threat now as harvesting has already begun in Sindh and Punjab provinces. However, if …
The Little Green Data Book 2008 is based on World Development Indicators 2008, defining, gathering, and disseminating international statistics from many people and organizations. Each year's edition includes a Focus section which focuses on a specific issues related to development and the environment. This year the focus is on the …
How did South Asian societies rebuild their economies following natural disasters? Based on five episodes from colonial India, this article suggests that between the mid-nineteenth and the mid-twentieth century, the response to disasters changed from laissez-faire to more state intervention. Despite this change, post-disaster rebuilding was complicated by unspecified rights …
This paper draws on recent field work within South Asia and an extensive review of secondary data to examine the dynamics of cross border trade and investment in South Asia, exploring the potential for, and obstacles to, such trade through the lens of a sector that is salient throughout South …
Abstract Black carbon in soot is the dominant absorber of visible solar radiation in the atmosphere. Anthropogenic sources of black carbon, although distributed globally, are most concentrated in the tropics where solar irradiance is highest. Black carbon is often transported over long distances, mixing with other aerosols along the way. …
