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, …
This Compendium of Environment Statistics 2011 published by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation is the twelfth edition of its series and covers five core parameters - biodiversity, atmosphere, land/soil, water and human settlements. The Compendium of Environment Statistics 2011 is the twelfth edition of its series, which initially …
By 2100, global climate change will modify plant communities covering almost half of Earth's land surface and will drive the conversion of nearly 40 percent of land-based ecosystems from one major ecological community type -- such as forest, grassland or tundra -- toward another, according to a new NASA and …
The realty sector may be going through a slowdown, but this has not stopped housing developers from launching new projects. Green Hill City Private Limited recently launched the country’s largest housing project—Green Hill City—in Mulpani, Kathmandu. According to the company, 800 housing units on 312 ropanis of land will be …
In a major policy decision ahead of the Assembly polls, the Uttarakhand Cabinet on Tuesday approved a new slum policy under which the government will provide a house or a plot to each family residing in slum areas. “The government has approved a new state slum policy which will benefit …
An assessment of the Durban outcome should consider how to turn a setback into a strategic opportunity. We have agreed to a new and not well-defined process without the industrialised countries specifying their emissions reductions in the coming years, leaving the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol an empty …
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today constituted a committee for demarcation of catchment area near Sukhna Lake. The High Court ordered the constitution of a committee to ensure that there is no illegal construction in the catchment area. The committee has been asked to submit its report on February …
The winter is shrinking and the overall precipitation during the season, particularly snow, is decreasing at an alarming rate in the “Queen of Hills”, making a White Christmas and a White New Year for which it has been famous, a rarity in recent years. The disastrous impact of excessive and …
By 2016, east Delhi will have the best connectivity in the city. With 14 new Metro stations coming up in the area as part of the Mukundpur-Yamuna Vihar corridor, with a further 3km extension from Yamuna Vihar to Shiv Vihar already being discussed, the area looks set to shoot into …
Lok Sabha on Monday passed the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (special provision) second bill, 2011. Replying to the debate on the bill, Union urban development minister Kamal Nath promised to prepare a visionary plan that will take into account the requirements for the next 25 years. Conceding that …
State Planning Commission holds consultation meeting in Madurai In the last 10 years, cultivable land in the State has shrunk by a whopping five lakh hectares owing to urbanisation and industrialisation, resulting in agriculture and allied sectors registering 0.69 per cent growth in the first four years of the 11th …
The state pollution control agency has been directed by the Bombay High Court to submit a report on the quality of water in the state’s rivers after a petition drew the court’s attention to reports that nearly a fifth of the country’s most polluted rivers are in Maharashtra. The petition …
Urbanization has been haphazard in Guwahati which has increased the chances of damage in the event of an earthquake and remote sensing technology will help reduce risks posed by quakes GUWAHATI1: Remote sensing technology will now be used to reduce seismic risks in urban planning in Assam. The government has …
KSTP aims to improve traffic flow and road safety on the State's primary road network, and strengthen the institutional and financial capacity of key transport sector agencies. Thiruvananthapuram, Dec. 1: The World Bank is learnt to have accorded the go-ahead to the second phase of the Kerala State Transport Project …
A 12-member committee appointed to look into the construction of a controversial roadway from Ilumbakanda to Suriyakanda said to be endangering the the Sinharaja National World Heritage Site (NWHS) has recommended that the construction of proposed roadway should be stopped. The committee headed by Peradeniya University Professor Nimal Gunatilaka had …
Mosquito borne diseases is a growing urban problem because of unplanned urbanization, industrialization and excessive population growth coupled with rural to urban migration. For developing a suitable and effective health education strategy, it is inevitable to understand the level of knowledge of the community, their attitude and practices regarding mosquito …
The amount and intensity of runoff at catchment scale are largely determined by the presence of impervious land cover types, which are predominant in an urbanized area. This paper examines the impact of different methods for estimating impervious surface cover on the prediction of peak discharges as determined by a …
This publication discusses the activities and findings from the second phase of the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN), a program supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. Changes in climatic conditions represent one of the greatest challenges facing humanity over coming decades. Climate change poses special concerns for the rapidly …
The growing emphasis on solar energy utilisation to achieve energy security as well as to combat the menace of climate change and global warming has resulted in the formulation of one of the world’s most ambitious solar missions in India. While the larger focus of the Mission is on grid-connected …
Indian policies and rules, while not perfect, have some important safeguards and recognition for informal sector recyclers, particularly wastepickers. However, municipalities, urban policy makers, and private companies ignore them while conducting business in solid waste management. In so doing, they bypass the environment and the poor. They disrupt a chain …
This paper discusses the many limitations of the official poverty lines applied in Sri Lanka (and many other nations). These include poverty lines’ reliance on expert-based determination of basic food and non-food needs, the fact that they are a monetary measure and so do not measure whether food or non-food …
