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 …
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. …
bird flu is spreading in Bangladesh despite efforts to control it. By February 19, the H5NI virus outbreaks had been reported in 43 out of 64 districts. The nation's poultry industry, one of the world's largest, is now confronted with its greatest challenge since large-scale poultry farming was introduced in …
Click here to enlarge view the much delayed plan to supply water to Kathmandu is set to roll. On February 13, the Nepal government said the newly formed Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (kukl) would take over the project from the Nepal Water Supply Corporation (nwsc). The government said the corporation …
South Asia being an energy-deficit region, there is a strong case for developing regional cooperation in this sector. This may take different forms. India has surplus petroleum refining capacity while other countries in the region are importers of petroleum products. The real benefits will accrue from cooperation in power generation.
India has had the most success attracting more private investment in infrastructure in 2006 than any other developing country. Long-standing policies in most other South Asian countries are beginning to bear fruit as well. Nevertheless, delivering the infrastructure services needed to sustain and accelerate growth in South Asia remains a …
A group of 53 sanitation and hygiene promotion practitioners met in Bangladesh from 29 to 31 January 2008 to mark the start of the International Year of Sanitation (IYS) by sharing and learning from their peers. Each attending organisation had written a case study on their work and came to …
about 50 heads of livestock, mostly cattle, died in the last week of January after drinking water from a stream in the Ghaggar Union Council of Bin Qasim township on the outskirts of Karachi in Pakistan. Effluents from the nearby army-owned Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited has polluted the water. …
Work has begun to repair three damaged undersea fibre-optic cables that were severed in the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf on January 30 and February 1. The cause of the cable break is yet to be confirmed and speculations are there that a ship's anchor was to blame. The …
Sri Lanka raises fuel prices: After doling out huge fuel subsidies for five months, the Sri Lankan government finally increased fuel prices on January 13. The price of petrol has increased by LKR 10 (US $10 cents) a litre to LKR 127 (US $1.2), while the new prices for diesel …
A food crisis looms large in Bangladesh after two waves of floods and a cyclone. Three natural disasters within four months have ruined the late-monsoon aman paddy, the second major cereal crop in the country. As a result, food prices have soared and the government is finding it difficult to …
The last few decades have witnessed a sweeping change in the food production scenario of South Asia. India, the largest of the South Asian economies, is now largely self-sufficient in foodgrain and is an emerging exporter. While the other countries of the region remain dependent on cereal imports, the per …
The annual regional meeting (ARM) is an annual activity of OneWorld South Asia. It aims to provide a platform for knowledge sharing and collaborative engagement on ICT-assisted progress towards MDGs and beyond, in the South Asia region. The choice of the theme for the seventh ARM on "climate justice for …
