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 …
MAYAN Indians are turning the tables on ranchers near Bachajon town in Mexico's Chiapas state. Just about 175 years after they were forced off their lands, the Indian supporters of the rebel Zapatista National Liberation Army have occupied more than 28,000 ha of their ancestral land around Bachajon. Cattle, food …
FRANCE'S pioneering "green oil" fuel, being pushed by the nation's powerful farmers' lobby, is catching Europe's attention. Already, filling stations in several French metros supply green oil, which is produced with grain, oilseeds or sugarbeet. Although it is not considered a substitute for petrol and diesel, European Union states are …
OUR attitude to the environment has been like the proverbial free lunch: no immediate costs, and free dessert in the bargain. The punishment is that someone must pay for the degradation, even though it may be diluted over a protracted period of time. The environment was perceived as a free …
SOMETIMES, eco-support comes unexpectedly from the most unlikely quarters -- this time round, cooperative movements. The pathbreakers are already here: the Kooperativa Forbundet, a large production, manufacturing and distribution cooperative in Sweden has an environment secretariat and a monitoring mechanism; the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool in Canada has established a Responsible …
FIRST superheroes and now supercows. The USA is raising a breed of super-udders that will raise milk production in the country by 25 per cent, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). From 1 February, 1994, some farmers began injecting the hormone bovine somatrophin (BST) into cows to boost …
Disappearing herbs SOME of Sri Lanka's natural wonders could be destroyed in the frantic race for industrialisation, says an article by Wijitha Nakkavita. A case in point is the beautiful Roomassala Hill, once the repository of over 500 rare herbal plants. Today, they have dwindled to about 150 rare species. …
KEEP the Great Lakes surrounding the US-Canada border clean or fall prey to cancer and impotency, warns the International Joint Commission, the watchdog for the five lakes -- Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario. A recent report of the organisation expresses concern about the apparent nonchalance of the US and …
YEARS of government protection and a ban on imports had so far insulated Japanese rice farmers from foreign competition. Now, however, they face double trouble -- emergency imports of foreign rice by the Japanese government to tide over a shortfall in production. The imports coincide with a decision to allow …
How many people can nature sustain? A proposed capacity study of the Kochi region of Kerala intends to find this out. The study of natural resources in the region to sustain a given population will be conducted by the Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). The 2-year multi-disciplinary study, …
GREEN is not a popular colour in Europe at the moment -- at least not with industry. Flattened under the weight of over 200 environment protection rules, many European companies are afraid that they may lose the sharp edge of the market wedge. British prime minister John Major clarified Britain's …
THE second informal meeting of the world's 10 most important environment ministers was designed to iron out differences among them. But when they gathered in Agra in late February at the invitation of Kamal Nath, India's environment minister, many disagreements persisted. Ministers from Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Malaysia, the …
CAMEROON'S forests are being hijacked by France. The Cameroon Post, the country's leading news daily, recently reported that France had agreed to cancel half the
EVEN well-intentioned enviroment protection schemes can sometimes go awry. A case in point is the environmental impact assessment regulation for development activities, which came into force in Sri Lanka recently. Though the goverment has yet to approve a proposed golf course-cum-hotel complex at Mahaberitanne, Digana, the developer has commenced work …
NEPALESE environmentalists have taken the Arun-III hydroelectric dam issue to court, even as the World Bank is expected to approve a loan of about $750 million for the project. Negotiations for the loan are in a "difficult stage", admits Nepalese minister of state for water resources Laxman Prasad Ghimire. However, …
Entrepreners will now have to submit to the ministry for environment and forests detailed project and environemental impact assessment reports and environmental management plans for any new industrial project, expansion or modification. According to a notification presented in Parliament, the reports will be evaluated and assessed by the Impact Assessment …
ENVIRONMENTAL issues ranked fifth among national problems in Sri Lanka, reports Nalaka Gunawardene from Colombo. Quoting a study by Survey Research Lanka Ltd, a market research firm, Gunawardene says cost of living, ethnic issues, unemployment and the high cost of housing take precedence over environment. However, more than 50 per …
BRITAIN and China have finally joined the international ban on dumping nuclear wastes at sea. The two countries, Russia, Belgium and France had abstained when the London Convention - a worldwide treaty on sea pollution - was adopted by, 72 nations in November 1993. Belgium and France later indicated their …
WHAT do kangaroos, nuclear power plants and organic farmers have in common? They were among the multifarious subjects of environment films screened at a recent Japanese festival. The second Tokyo Environmental Film Festival, organised by the Earth Vision Organisation of Japan in December last year, featured 53 films from 16 …
Environmental management invariably raises complex and difficult issues. Economists usually tend to differ with environmentalists. While economists tend to look at the short-term, environmentalists emphasise the long-term. While growth and prosperity are important for the former, balance and harmony are the guiding principles for the latter. But the twain must …
UNCLE Sam has done it once again. In mid-February, the Kim Il Sung regime in North Korea finally agreed to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect its seven declared nuclear sites. The decision came after 10 nerve-wracking days during which the two countries hurled verbal missiles at …
