The global cost of disasters is growing: The economic burden of disasters is intensifying. While the direct costs of disasters averaged $70–80 billion a year between 1970 and 2000, between 2001 and 2020 these annual costs grew significantly to $180–200 billion. But the real cost is far higher. Disaster costs …
the French have always wanted to set up a World Environment Organisation ( weo ). It is therefore not surprising that the French prime minister, Lionel Jospin should once again raise the issue of setting up a weo . So what exactly is a weo? As conceived by its proponents …
international efforts to restore the ozone layer are being threatened by a flourishing black market of chlorofluorocarbons (cfcs), said Paul Frasier, senior principal research scientist with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation of Australia. According to him, the smuggling is being done on a small scale, but it …
even in a scene which was as spectacular, chaotic and confusing as a circus, it was a lone, odd voice. While all the participants were harping on the water scarcity facing the world, a pamphlet doing the rounds at the Second World Water Forum, held at the Hague in the …
EVERYBODY wants growth and development. Yet, there is a serious cost attached to it. The point is what kind of growth is both desirable and sustainable. Resources of all types constitute our capital for growth. But, for growth to be made meaningful and enduring, the capital base has to be …
How can there be sustainable development when so many people are dependent on forests for their livelihood? Sustainable development generates revenue. One must understand that there is no trade-off between sustainability and development in the long-term perspective. When sustainability is achieved, there will be a transitional period when you have …
There is no doubt in the minds of anybody that the world is steadily heading towards a global water crisis. For one water was always a scarce resource and of late the scarcity is growing. Coupled to this is the problem of pollution of water sources by domestic sewage, agricultural …
This is a directory which presents information about water harvesters and the work they are doing in different parts of India and abroad. It keeps people informed about water harvesting activities and experiences in different regions. It is a platform in print that helps experts and activists to get in …
Forests are the planet's largest and most important ecosystems. They exert a profound influence on the structure and function of the human habitat locally and globally
a recent report released by the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development ( wcfsd ) says that about 12.5 per cent of the world's 270,000 species of plants and about 75 per cent of the world's mammals are threatened by the decline in forest cover. The threat will be …
increasing water shortages in the world may lead to global hunger, civil unrest and even war, according to a new study by Sandra Postel, director of the Global Water Policy Project and senior fellow with the Worldwatch Institute, usa . Postel warns that unless immediate steps are taken, water shortage …
Development Programme (UNDP) will provide assistance worth US $2.55 million to India for large-scale adoption of high-yielding hybrid rice technology. The initiative is part of the Food Security Program under the UNDP-supported Country Cooperation Framework for India for the period 1997-2002. According to recent estimates, to ensure food security at …
The arrival of the 21st century is clouded by unprecedented threats to the stability of the natural world. This was stated in the special millennial edition of the State of the World report, released by the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute. "In a globally interconnected economy, rapid deforestation, falling water tables, and …
THE bad news first: The space ship called Earth is in serious jeopardy. All of us (and future travellers) have no easy option. No one can shout, "Stop the ship, I want to jump off." No way. Now some of the cold facts to drive home the point: reckless overexploitation …
in 1998, the average global sea level rose by about eight tenths of an inch before returning to normal. Scientists studying the topex/ Poseidion satellite measurement of the sea surface ( topex /Poseidon satellite measures average global sea level at ten-day intervals) believe that El Ni
a flawless countdown, a false dawn over much of Florida, gasps and cheers from onlookers marked the launch of space shuttle Endeavour , aptly named as it is humankind's first attempt to make a room with a view in outer space. The space shuttle blasted off from the Kennedy Space …
This is a directory which presents information about water harvesters and the work they are doing in different parts of India and abroad. It keeps people informed about water harvesting activities and experiences in different regions. It is a platform in print that helps experts and activists to get in …
This directory is divided into two sections - India and International. The first section contains information on environmental health specialists from India, whose names are listed in alphabetical order of the Indian States and Union territories in which their organisations belong. Similar information on international experts, indexed countrywise, is given …
THE complexities of the solar system foxed our scientists yet again. Indeed, the Leonid meteor storm did take place, but almost 16 hours earlier than predicted. And it didn't strike at the rate of 10,000 meteors per hour. The spectacular display of God's own fireworks" that was predicted was nothing …
