In a world of higher electricity demand growth, clean electricity is stepping up to the challenge. Spearheaded by exponential solar expansion, clean power is set to grow faster than demand, marking the start of a permanent decline in fossil generation. 2024 both clarified and consolidated the shape of the global …
The proposed Arun III dam in Nepal has come under fire. The World Bank's newly established investigation panel, which deals with complaints from people adversely affected by the Bank's projects, has received a formal complaint -- its first -- on the dam. A group of NGOs in Nepal charge the …
Once home to a rich variety of migratory birds from Russia, Siberia and Central Asia, Gamaghar Lake near Lahore, Pakistan, has been driven to the verge of extinction by an ill-planned irrigation system. Inadequate drainage systems had led to high levels of waterlogging and salinity in nearby agricultural areas. To …
Manchar, Asia's largest fresh water lake, is heading towards doom. Salinity levels in the lake, situated in Pakistan's Dadu district, have risen dangerously as saline water from the Salinity Control and Reclamation Project area continues to be drained into the lake. As a result, fish catches have declined sharply from …
With mid-term polls in Nepal due in November, the Arun dam project is set to become a major poll issue. The Nepali Congress government is trying to highlight the $764-million project's employment potential in the eastern hills. The powerful United Marxist-Leninist opposition, however, is pointing to alleged kickbacks and a …
The Nepali government has finally admitted that the state-run Himal cement factory in Kathmandu is a major polluter. The factory will now be fitted with pulse jet filters and filter bags to trap the huge quantities of dust that it emits, according to a Panos report. Once this equipment is …
GREEN connotations of a different kind have left several Pakistani citizens aghast at a recent decision by the Sindh provincial government to ban the manufacture and sale of polythene bags made of recycled plastic. Officials claim the decision was taken on environmental considerations because the disposal of these plastic bags …
BRAIN tonics have proliferated in Pakistan. A report by the Association for the Rational Use of Medication has identified 20 brain tonics in Pakistan, which are freely promoted for a variety of ailments such as dizziness, memory loss, cerebrovascular impairments, and mental and physical retardation. However, the report warns that …
QUETTA in Pakistan has set a precedent by completely prohibiting the sale, purchase and use of polythene bags in the city, as of May 1. Manufacturers have received directives to wind up business, says a Panos report. If the measure proves successful, it will strengthen the case of environmental NGOs …
ECOLOGISTS warn that largescale tree-felling may cause a drastic reduction in rainfall in Pakistan's Baluchistan and transform the beautiful orchard valleys into a barren landscape. According to some estimates, over 1 million trees in various jungles of the province were hacked down by the local populace. If there is no …
of 829 basic health units covering 96 per cent of the rural population. Only 229 actually function as health units, according to a Panos Features report. The rest are used as godowns, rest houses, barns and small industries. Besides, there is a paucity of basic medicines and sophisticated equipment even …
KARACHI and Lahore, the 2 major metros in Pakistan, need extensive cosmetic surgery. A Panos Features report says that Karachi generates 5,000 tonnes of garbage a day and only about a 3rd of it is lifted. Holding their noses, the Japanese have very generously gifted around 100 refuse vans to …
PAKISTANIS are cutting down on eating beef and are moving towards chicken. Although chicken was previously considered a luxury dish, the growth of the poultry industry has led to a major slash in prices, making it affordable for the less wealthy, writes Panos Features. Besides, there are fears that many …
PAKISTAN will not abandon its nuclear programme until there is an agreement to make the entire region a nuclear weapons free zone, said the country's foreign minister Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali during a debate in parliament. Pakistani nationalists, however, fear the programme may be put at a standstill to pacify …
ROBIN Raphael, the US state department official who was the cause of a major diplomatic row with India, visited Pakistan in early November for talks with the Benazir Bhutto government. Her visit is being interpreted as an attempt by the US government to smooth Pakistani feathers ruffled by the controversy …
LOANS FROM the US have helped Pakistan use other funds to finance its nuclear programme, according to the Central Intelligence Agency of USA, reports indicate. The agency is, however, uncertain about whether China continues to provide Pakistan with nuclear weapon technology.
PAKISTAN'S agriculture dominated economy may be crippled by increased variation in monsoons over the next 50 years as a result of global warming, fears the director of the Pakistan Institute of Environmental Development Action Research, according to a Panos report by Najma Sadeque. With the expected doubling of atmospheric carbon, …
SCIENTISTS, physicians and surgeons in Bangladesh have formed a human tissue bank with the aim of persuading the government to remove legal hurdles in collecting human body parts for treatment, reports Panos. At present, only blood and eye collection is legal. In Pakistan, too, there are problems. Though more and …
PAKISTAN'S cotton crop will reach the target of 960 million kg despite the locust threat and reports of a virus attack, according to the country's central cotton committee. The final output, however, will depend on the extent to which Pakistan is able to mitigate the damage from the locust attack. …
THE POPULATION explosion has caused Pakistan's per capita surface water resource to decline from 5,000 cubic metres in 1947 to 1,400 cubic metres today. This is expected to drop further to 800 cubic metres in the next two decades, writes Najma Sadeque for Panos. Karachi, Pakistan's biggest urban centre, is …
PAKISTAN'S JUNIPER forests -- the second largest in the world -- have been struck by the dwarf mistletoe, reveal Pakistani scientists. The mistletoe is a parasite that hampers the growth of the host, seriously affecting seed development and leading to premature death. Vast stretches of the forest have been affected …
