The report forecasts global economic growth to 2.6% in 2024, barely above the 2.5% threshold commonly associated with a recessionary phase. The report says the prevailing focus on inflation overshadows urgent issues like trade disruptions, climate change and rising inequalities. It advocates for structural reforms and coordinated global efforts, proposing …
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has asked developing nations to boost exports of organic produce so that they can take advantage of growing organic food markets in developed countries. In a recent report entitled
The five-month-old ban on hunting and trading in sharks and 52 species of molluscs has been relaxed partly (Down To Earth, Vol 10, No 15, December 31, 2001). Considering the livelihood problem of the fisherfolk, the Union ministry of environment and forests recently issued a revised notification saying that the …
The Union government has been directed by the Supreme Court to conduct an enquiry into the allegation that huge quantities of hazardous waste oil were imported to India through various harbours. The government has been asked to submit the report within seven weeks from December 3, 2001. The court's directive …
The Indian Biodiversity Bill has been cleared by the Parliamentary Standing Committee and is now before the house for approval. Not before time. Given that it has been over nine years since we signed the Convention on Biological Diversity (cbd) and that the bill has been drafted and redrafted it …
the Kerala High Court (hc) has directed the collector of Wayanad district to prevent extraction of timber from plantations in the region. The official has been told to ensure that various state departments do not abet the cutting and removal of trees from both forests and patta (title deed) land …
In a move that will see the world's deepest oils drilled off the East African coast, the Kenyan government has signed an exploration treaty with a uk- based company. Although the move is likely to expand Kenya's fuel supply and get the government out of the mess caused by the …
Experts were unanimous that gas export would be suicidal for Bangladesh because the country does not have enough reserves to export. Most of them believe that planned use of natural gas by setting up more gas-based industries in the country was necessary. At a national seminar on
according to recent reports, the mountain pine beetle epidemic in Canada threatens around us $3.81 billion in lumber in British Columbia's forests. Eight million hectares of lodgepole pine trees are being infested and killed by the beetle, thanks to four years of warm winters in British Columbia, Canada's largest lumber …
What is the need of regulating biotechnolgy? Biotechnology products have acquired a special significance today as they can be used to cure diseases where conventional drugs have failed. Unfortunately, despite a growing demand for these products, the existing regulations are not comprehensive enough to address the market needs adequately. What …
the choice of venue was clever and the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center added to the security paranoia. The result was that it combined to give trade negotiators somewhat of a breather when they met in Doha, Qatar, for the fourth ministerial conference of the World Trade …
However, the Doha declaration does not take a decision on whether countries with insufficient or no manufacturing capacities in the pharmaceutical sector will be allowed to import generic drugs to deal with a health crisis. Instead, it calls upon the trips council to
agriculture remains the biggest source of inequity in the world trading system. Unlike telecom, financial, and legal services, farming practices in the North have stoutly resisted the logic of market forces. Farming in the North thrives on prodigious subsidies and price support systems combined with coddling protection through high tariffs …
Developing countries also fear the huge costs associated with greener technologies, which will be unbearable by their domestic industries. It could make their goods uncompetitive in western markets. This unequivocal opposition to greening of trade is what brings the motley crew of poor countries together. “If there’s one thing that …
the familiar sound of conch shells (shankh) resonating during auspicious occasions may soon be a thing of the past, courtesy a recent Union government decision. The July 11, 2001, gazette notification by the Ministry of environment and forests has de facto banned the harvest, processing, stocking and sale of Xancus …
communicable diseases cause 20-25 per cent of deaths annually worldwide. And poor environmental conditions are the perfect breeding ground for these contagions. This indissoluble link, showing how ecological imbalances can be hazardous to health, has been brought forth in the
