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 …
ANYBODY reading the national media would have thought that environmental issues had precious little to do with the current round of elections in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. But the stories that our reporters have brought back show that nothing could be farther …
AN INDIAN scientist from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests ordinary tubelights can be used to cheaply disinfect water, especially in rural areas. "It's not as if I have discovered something new," says Ashok Gadgil. "In fact, breweries, bakeries and pharmaceutical laboratories use mercury vapour lamps (such as tubelights) to …
Municipal authorities in Thrissur, Kerala, have been accused of dilly-dallying though a deadly chemical has reportedly flowed into the town's drinking water reservoir, resulting in at least 30 persons being hospitalised for dizziness, headache and stomach disorders. The reservoir became contaminated when a tanker carrying 12,000 litres of concentrated phenyl …
LIKE OTHER countries, India's strategy at global environmental negotiations is to protect its national interests while safeguarding environmental space for future development needs. Climate Change: India played a leading role within the Group of 77 countries in pushing the issue of equity and stressed that the countries that are responsible …
THE COMMISSION on Sustainable Development (CSD), established as a UN organisation at the Earth Summit in 1992, seems bogged down by talk bereft of action. The commission, consisting of 53 countries elected on a three-year rotation basis, was set up as a global forum to coordinate action to implement an …
IT WAS former UK environment minister Michael Howard who proposed to his Indian counterpart, Kamal Nath, that their countries should form an alliance to push post-Rio environmental issues. Britain was especially interested in reactivating discussions to secure a global convention on forests. Final agreement on the convention, incorporating India's positions …
As a follow-up to the Rio summit, the Canadian environment minister set in motion events that have led to a new environmental grouping. The discussions were held for two days and had no formal agenda or speeches, but it set in motion events that have led to a new grouping …
WITH THE end of the cold war, the Group of 77 (G-77) is increasing both in size and clout. Once a loosely-knit association, G-77 now consists of 129 developing countries and its influence, especially in the field of environment, is on the rise. Frequent references to G-77 resolutions in the …
What are India's strong points at environment negotiations? Our main strength is credibility -- our record of conservation of natural resources. We have $600 billion worth of forests and forest products, but we do not use them to raise revenue. Indian negotiators at environmental talks still speak of transfer of …
We are united by a common premise: that human activities are needlessly causing grave and perhaps irreparable damage to the global environment. The dangers are clear to all of us. -- Al Gore, vice president of the United States, speaking at the Commission on Sustainable Development, June 14, 1993. "What …
RESIDENTS of Savitri Nagar in south Delhi are suffering from water-borne diseases and don't know who to turn to. They blame the Delhi Water Supply and Sewage Disposal Undertaking (DWSSDU) for the deaths of eight people, apparently brought about by these diseases, but the authorities disclaim responsibility. Hundreds of other …
MIDAS may soon lose his touch in Honduras because US mining giant RTZ's plan to exploit the Minas de Oro area is facing massive criticism from green campaigners, led by Wilfredo Sandoval Calix who warns, "The mine would be located in a mountainous area above springs that feed many local …
AFTER the tragedy, comes the gold rush. In the three Agra localities where several people died after drinking contaminated municipal water, self-styled social workers have surfaced, looking for a slice of the compensation. These "leaders" have assumed the mantle of "champions of poisoned-water victims" and promise the bereaved families almost …
TWO HUNDRED years ago, Thomas Malthus had asked at what point man's population would exceed his means of subsistence. The world's population then had not reached 1 billion. Today, a year before the population conference in Cairo, the total number of people in the world is fast approaching 5.5 billion. …
Residents of Karad and downstream villages on the Krishna in western Maharashtra had no reason to suspect the efficacy of their new drinking water network. But they are victims now of a jaundice epidemic resulting from contaminated potable water in both urban and rural areas. The outbreak has taken a …
YOU CAN now bank on the environment -- at least at the nine Punjab National Bank (PNB) branches that will underwrite projects friendly to both customers and the environment. In a trend-setting move, PNB branches will encourage ecologically safe projects such as organic farms, fruit and vegetable cooperatives for the …
THREE years ago, the state government directed the Uttar Pradesh Ground Water Board (UPGWB) to carry out a detailed survey of the fluorosis-affected villages in Unnao district. But it has yet to release the Rs 7 lakh that such a survey would cost. Despite this, the UP government recently directed …
FOR MORE than a decade now, The State of the World"s Children, published annually by UNICEF, has attempted to draw public attention to issues which, though vital to the well-being of the world"s children, rarely get included in the economic and political priorities of governments. Like its predecessors, The State …
NO OTHER region of India has paid a heavier price for India's industrialisation than the Damodar valley, which traverses the poor states of Bihar and West Bengal. Rich in coal resources, the region has been extensively mined for this valuable mineral, which energises domestic hearths and industrial furnaces throughout the …
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice has convicted Britain for allowing high nitrate content in drinking water, court upheld an EC complaint that in 28 water supply areas of Britain in 1989, nitrate levels were above the safe limit of 50 parts per million as laid down by the EC. Responding …
