In this report, ESCAP explores the future of urbanization in Asia and the Pacific, focusing on the dynamic shifts in the region’s urban landscape. It highlights the region’s demographic transformations, including population ageing, and the persistent challenges of urban poverty and inequality. The analysis covers urban areas of all sizes, …
The Union Urban Development Ministry has constituted a working group to suggest ways for the preservation of water bodies in the urban areas. Rapid disappearance of water bodies from the urban landscape has sounded an alarm vis-à-vis water shortfall and has also put a considerable strain on States’ spending to …
This 2012 edition of World Disasters Report released by International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies focuses on the plight of people forcibly displaced by conflict, political upheaval, disasters, climate change & development projects. This World Disasters Report (WDR) focuses on forced migration and on the people forcibly …
The State animal of Jharkhand, the elephant, has become a displaced creature in its own home, courtesy vanishing corridors, growing urbanisation and illegal mining. Despite having a rich pathway of six State corridors and twelve intra-State corridors, elephants face the ire of intruders. Jharkhand’s corridors are undergoing landscape changes due …
First cities and biodiversity outlook report was released here at the Convention for Biological Diversity. The focus is on action and policy towards sustainability with accent on awareness. It was felt that most people in cities are disconnected from nature. The report seeks to provide a link between urbanisation, biodiversity …
The government should only in exceptional cases permit acquisition of farm land for non- agriculture purposes like setting up of industries and housing projects, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Tuesday. Mr. Pawar, who heads the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Land acquisition bill, said there is a pressure …
Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday said the state government has prepared a “Multi-Modal Mobility” plan to provide better transport facilities, like Metro and pod taxis, to the people. Haryana is seriously considering running pod taxi in big cities and in Gurgaon, including the old city. Mr Hooda …
Urban land-cover change threatens biodiversity and affects ecosystem productivity through loss of habitat, biomass, and carbon storage. However, despite projections that world urban populations will increase to nearly 5 billion by 2030, little is known about future locations, magnitudes, and rates of urban expansion. Here we develop spatially explicit probabilistic …
Sindh is lagging behind the rest of the country in health indicators, revealed an analysis carried out by the health department for the newly launched Sindh Health Sector Strategy (2012-2020). The health department had carried out an evidence-based situational analysis from September to November 2011 for the eight-year health plan …
Notwithstanding its impressive economic growth, food insecurity in South Asia continues to be a stark reality for a large number of households. Despite several successful policy interventions by Governments, the number of malnourished children and adults remain alarmingly high in the region – higher than those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Agriculture …
The 2013 World Development Report on Jobs will help explain and analyze the connection between jobs and important dimensions of economic and social development. The report will provide analytical tools to identify the obstacles to sustained job creation and examine differences in the nature of jobs, which in turn affects …
CBO – Action and Policy provides the summary of a global assessment of the links between urbanization, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Drawing on contributions from more than 120 scientists and policy-makers from around the world, it summarizes how urbanization affects biodiversity and ecosystem services and presents 10 key messages for …
In this fifth edition of Cities of Opportunity, PwC and the Partnership for New York City again examine the current social and economic performance of the world’s leading cities. Also add a future dimension that probes the shape of city economies to come. Together, looking at the 2012 results and …
The ESCAP/UNISDR Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2012, Reducing Vulnerability and Exposure to Disasters provides an analysis of the impact of disasters on Asian and Pacific countries between 1970 to 2011, and discusses the twin challenge faced by the region of increasing exposure of its people and economic assets, and heightened vulnerabilities …
This brief describes how India’s internal dynamics, such as the country's growing population as well as increasing agricultural and industrial demands, have affected India’s water supplies. It concludes with recommendations for reform in India’s domestic policy and strengthening India’s transnational initiatives on water management.
India must modernise its cities or see them implode due to rising population pressure. As Union urban development minister Kamal Nath’s call this week for vertical development in New Delhi – to deal with growing population pressure – underscored, this is an urban century. By 2030, UN forecasts estimate that …
Bill balances needs of economic growth with concerns of aam aadmi, says Jairam Ramesh. Ahead of the first meeting of the Group of Ministers on the land bill, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has asserted that the proposed land bill balances the needs of economic growth with concerns of the …
Basic Services Already Stretched, Master Plan Must Consider Population Growth: Experts New Delhi: Even as Union urban development minister Kamal Nath continues to push for vertical growth in Delhi, urban planners and experts say the city’s most basic infrastructure — power, water and parking — is already stretched, and could …
The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) expects nearly 2 billion square feet of sustained building footprint by 2015. At present, 1,745 eco-friendly building projects with over 1.21 billion sq ft of green footprint are registered with the IGBC. “The green concept is becoming very popular among developers as they have …
KOLKATA, 16 SEPT: Constant travelling and rapid urbanisation of rural areas have contributed to a nearly 50-fold increase in dengue cases over the last 50 years, say experts. "Aedes aegypti was known to be the vector of urban areas and Aedes albopictus was responsible for the disease in rural and …
SHILLONG: Residents of Mawkyrwat, headquarters of new South West Khasi Hills district, are concerned that river Sala, the only source of potable drinking water for them, might be contaminated in the wake of fresh wave of urbanisation. The locals want that prior care should be taken so that river pollution …
