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 …
This is the visiting card of an Indian tribal who has witnessed the travails of living in an environmentally-ravaged land. His story is by no means isolated. It probably resembles the story of millions of other tribals. Mangilal remembers when there were lots of trees in the forest near his …
IN HIS very first address to the nation as prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi had said that his government would launch an afforestation drive which would green five million hectares (ha) a year, making it the world's largest afforestation effort. In addition, he said, this entire exercise would be taken up …
THE victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy took out an :nti-election campaign' rally in protest against political parties that have ignored the victims in their manifestos. The rally was organised by the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Uclyog Sangathan. More than 27,000 people died in 1984 due to lack of medical …
THIS is the time when paeans are being sung about the "poverty economist" Amartya Sen because of the Nobel Prize for economics. It is, therefore, probably churlish for an Indian to point out his grave shortcomings. But I have chosen to do so because there could not be a better …
Just what is sustainable development for Arunachal Pradesh? For the 865,000 people who live in Arunachal Pradesh, this is indeed a very important question. It came up recently at a seminar, jointly organised by the United Nations Development Programme and the Arunachal Pradesh government in Itanagar, to mark the release …
As Parties to the Climate Convention EU Member States have opted for a joint fulfilment of post-2000 greenhouse gas emission reduction obligations. No agreement could be reached on a joint EU target before the distribution of the burden of emission reductions among Member States had been agreed upon. This paper …
What does environmental deterioration lead to? It leads to changes in the planet's life support systems. When these systems become weak, their ability to support life deteriorates. Consequently, the health of individuals living in that ecosphere is bound to be affected. Some species profit by these changes and others lose …
Our bodies exist in the environment and we carry a soup of chemicals within us and we cannot stay insulated from the changes taking place in the environment. If the environment degrades, so does the state of our health. The key to good health is therefore in many ways a …
Scientists worldwide now accept that along with industrialisation and urbanisation, there has been a steady destruction of nature. Cities and industries have both affected clean air and clean water. Industries produce a lot of hazardous wastes; and cities produce a lot of garbage. Hazardous wastes pollute the groundwater. Accumulation of …
"Fifty per cent of the malaria cases are human made. Government spreads malaria by policy" V PSharma Former director of Malaria Research Centre, Delhi "Plague will erupt in small pockets along the Indira Gandhi canal (in the Thar desert). I hope it does not happen" Ishwar Prakash Rodent expert, with …
Taking the lead Developing countries must take the lead in proposing a system of entitlements, and North-South trading, which is both ecologically effective and socially just THE KEY ISSUES PREVENTlNG, global warming raises a very serious question for the world"s nations. It means putting a cap or a limit on …
What should be the future vision of the GEF? What are the areas that it should focus on? There are two things. The first is the issue of land degradation. I am not satisfied with the compromise formulation (in the assembly statement) defining the linkages between land degradation and gef …
For about a billion people in Africa and some of the Asian countries, land degradation and subsequent desertification means one more step to hunger. The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), 1994, is the only environmental convention that addresses the issue of poverty head on. Still, desertification never became a …
President, Global Village of Beijing, an NGO promoting public involvement in environmental protection "The NGO movement needs to be strengthened" • The ngo movement has been growing in China, especially in the last year. The Chinese government is changing its attitude towards ngo s. They now think that ngo s …
Vice-chairperson of the GEF Assembly and minister for development cooperation, Denmark "Developed countries should pay more towards environment protection" • We think that the world needs more progressive policies in the rich countries. The kind of conflicts that are threatening world stability and regional stability in the world today are …
Chairperson of the Climate Institute, Washington, DC " This is a need for tough measures to check artifically induced climate change" • The biggest emitters must make the biggest reductions to induce others to follow suit. • Governments must take difficult decisions. They must use economic incentives (to reduce emission …
- The GEF should be at the cutting edge, being "innovative, flexible and responsive' to the needs of the recipients - Country-driven efforts: - Based on national priorities - Greater outreach with targets, better consultations with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and local communities - Promote country ownership of GEF projects - …
