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 …
On his role as an economist serving the UN set-up which helped developing economies in Asia: I joined the UN in 1963 as an international civil servant with the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE, which later became ESCAp}. I was first attached to the cen- tral …
IT is the era of knowledge revolution. And we are living in a 'knowledge society' ever since we learned how to make a fire and where to find food. The values of competition and materialism mostly dominate the human society today. In my mind, a future cannot be built on …
THERE appears to exist today a 'consensus' that industrialisation is the solution for our economic woes. This simple statement actually hides a deep philosophical standpoint. The question that is needed to be asked is, whether consumption alone is sufficient to ensure the welfare of an individual or is it equally …
THE SOVEREIGNITY SLOGAN OF LATE in India, the concept of swadeshi is being rethought and re-discussed in the menacing and all-pervading shadow of Cargil, Enron and Kentucky Fried Chicken. In today's context of 'global village', 'information age' and global finance, to some it may seem anachronistic that the slogan of …
BASICALLY the term sivadcshi covers all aspects of national development - social, political, cultural, economic, international, science and technology and education. Developmental models based on indigenous cultural ethos and national resources in terms of humanpower and natural resources which preserves national interests, Could be defined as the "swadeshi approach". It …
UNTIL the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution, the sustainability of the panchayat institutions themselves were shaky. Whenever it was felt that the panchayats were not falling in line, the state governments simply dissolved them or clipped their wings. By making elections mandatory and preventing state governments from superseding these …
A GROUP Of 10 scientists from the rich world are demanding a fresh look at the world's environmental problems today. While praising the environmental movement in the North for pioneering positive changes in air and water quality there, the scientists accuse them of failing to accept their wrong predictions about …
DECISIONS taken in USA, under the guise of marine joint venture projects, are having a devastating impact on the livelihood of the fisherfolk of India. The fisherfolk are set against the deep sea trawling by increasing numbers of foreign collaborations being carried out with the blessings of the Indian government. …
ECONOMISTS who sparked off a furore by valuing the life of a citizen of a developing country at a 15th of an Euro-pean or a us citizen's, faced flak at a meeting in Geneva of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ipcc), held from July 24-28. The governments of India, …
THE title is misleading and merely a guise for the World Bank's preoccupation with its "reforms" or its spearhead Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). The book seems to be a product of the World Bank's made-to-order research industry with a common and predictable motive framework and outcome. It conceals a lack …
There is today a worldwide emphasis on liberalisation and economic reforms coupled with the phenomenon of reduced government spending. Economic reforms can be broken down into two components, stabilization measures and structural adjustments. The costs of economic reforms are essentially borne in the short-run period of stabilisation, and reform experiences …
LADAKHI tribals have started dreaming of going blonde, having blue eyes, owning 2 shiny cars and wearing skin-hugging jeans! There is a worrisome increase in the incidence of violence between Buddhists and Muslims, as well as within the communities themselves. The sole culprit, according to "Deep ecologist" Helena Norberg-Hodge, is …
Conventional indicators such as per capita income or real state domestic product (RSDP) -- the aggregate output of goods produced within the state at constant prices -- have no definite correlation with human development, according to N K Singh, director of the Delhi-based Foundation for Organisational Research and Education (FORE). …
"For a long time now, we have been calculating the number of people below and above the poverty line. And, these numbers have become a hot political issue. But the important thing is to eradicate hunger. This can be done by identifying the critical areas of poverty and helping the …
PAPUA New Guinea is the most exotic country on earth. A visitor is quite likely to be asked, "What is a nuclear family?" According to the local joke in PNG, it consists of a mum, a dad, two kids and an anthropologist. But given the worldwide interest in environment, it …
Ask anyone to locate Papua New Guinea on a map and there are very good chances that he or she wouldn't know where to start. Till recently, Papua New Guinea was a relatively obscure archipelago on the western rim of the Pacific. Portuguese colonisers first landed on the island in …
WITHIN the international community, few people have cared to study the environmental behaviour of Papua New Guinea. Its traditions provide a very instructive experience: they show the world how to deal with the globalisation process of the 21st century, which is slowly eroding the economic sovereignty of Third World nations …
THE TRUE test of a development video is whether it informs and motivates its viewers or sends them to sleep. And this is where many of the entries for the 'Women in Development' video competition, organised recently in New Delhi by the British Council, failed miserably, for this viewer was …
A CONTROVERSY is raging in the UK about the setting up of windmills in the countryside. Some conservationists contend they spoil the landscape and are uneconomic, while others refute these allegations and say windmills are the cleanest source of energy. The debate heated up when British environment minister John Gummer …
• Denmark's fourth-largest city, Alborg, has groundwater so pure it can be pumped directly into homes. But the supply from the Drastrup underground reserve is threatened by contamination and local officials are trying to solve this problem by encouraging users of the land to change their ways. Drastrup authorities did …
