This publication presents the key findings from a preliminary assessment of the policies of African countries relevant to charcoal value chains. The main objective of this study is to assess the extent to which national energy and environmental policies and strategies in Africa have the potential to provide enabling conditions …
With Raipur being listed as the seventh most polluted city in the world in a World Health Organisation report, the Chhattisgarh government has drafted an action plan to arrest rising pollution in the city over the next two years. "Government has chalked out a strong action plan which will help …
During the review, experts informed the House panel that forests near tobacco cultivation areas are facing decline and loss of biodiversity. In several parts of the country, firewood is used to dry the green leaves. The parliamentary panel on environment and forests has asked the Centre and environment ministry to …
The recent forest fires in Uttarakhand torched over 2,000 hectares. In the second of a three-part series, Business Standard looks at the immediate and long-term impact of the fires on Uttarakhand Ten years ago, when Peter Smetacek walked in the forests surrounding Sattal, there were areas so thick with butterflies …
The evaluation of loss of forest wealth in Uttarakhand due to forest fires continues to be a tedious affair. There is no foolproof mechanism to evaluate the loss caused due to the destruction of a tree in fire. The devastating forest fires have destroyed forest wealth. Though the records of …
While environmentalists and activists are largely blaming the timber and land mafia for raging “manmade” forest fires in Uttarakhand and now Himachal Pradesh, they also fault the poor management of such expected “cyclic” events. The lack of compliance of general management practices required to pre-empt such eventualities, which are now …
The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, to provide concessional LPG connections, is a step in the right direction but much more needs to be done by 2019 and beyond to ensure homes in India cook using modern fuels. This article explores the issues of providing connections, subsidy provisioning and ensuring sustained …
Improving Efficiency in Forestry Operations and Forest Product Processing in Kenya: A Viable REDD+ Policy and Measure? seeks to assess whether increased efficiency in forestry operations and forest product processing and utilization constitute viable policies and measures to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) for the Government of …
Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt has given approval for "ecological thinning" trials in a new national park on the Murray River, a move green groups say marks the first time logging has been permitted in forests granted the highest level of protection. At the end of last month, the Environment …
A community on Kenya’s east coast is fighting climate change with its own mangrove restoration, conservation and carbon-trading project Around 30 miles south of Mombasa, a beaten footpath stretches away from the main road, meanders around shrubs and coconut trees, and leads into Gazi village. The small settlement of mud-walled …
Despite studies indicating that the Golden Temple was getting damaged due to pollution by coal hearths, among other things, a part of the langar is still being cooked from firewood. A study of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) had stated that one of the reasons of damage to the …
More than 5.5 million people worldwide die prematurely every year due to household and outdoor air pollution, and India and China together account for 55% of these deaths, new research has found. About 1.6 million people died of air pollution in China and 1.4 million died in India in 2013, …
Gurgaon: A CNG crematorium built in DLF Phase III at a cost of Rs 85 lakh in May 2012 has been lying unused even as the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday directed the Union environment ministry and Delhi government to initiate programmes to provide alternative modes of cremation of …
The National Mission for a Green India proposal, released under the aegis of the National Action Plan on Climate Change, is a significant attempt to integrate the mechanism of ecosystem services in the overall framework of forest conservation in India. It suggests a series of strategies for improving the quality …
Indoor air pollutants — caused by 'chulhas' for example — contribute to increased rate of respiratory diseases and low weight among newborns. One of the major reasons for low weight among newborns in rural India was the continuous exposure of pregnant women to indoor air pollution, according to doctors. Doctors …
Bhubaneswar: While the city is striving hard for more green cover and less air pollution, a crematorium located in the heart of the city is emitting hazardous pollutants. The air pollution is so high that anyone passing through the Janpath during cremation of bodies will feel suffocated as the smoke …
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is introducing on a pilot basis a new locally made energy efficient cooking stove for use by rural dwellers across Ghana, as a means to prevent or reduce the use of firewood for cooking. The newly-introduced cooking stove, which is made from ordinary clay, cow …
BENGALURU: With an estimated seven lakh tons of fuelwood required for curing tobacco every year in Karnataka, more than 300 hectares of forest land are lost annually. Experts opine that tobacco cultivation is not only a big threat to environment but also likely to become a threat to food security …
This study, commissioned by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), offers an assessment of the effect of bioenergy on greenhouse gas emissions. It combines estimates of supply-chain emissions from liquid and solid biofuels and direct and indirect land-use-change emissions with different bioenergy pathways: for transport fuel, electricity, and heat. The …
Bioenergy is a major source of energy in developing countries. However, increasing demand for agricultural commodities can lead to a stronger competition for natural resources with the bioenergy production. The nexus among energy, food production and natural resource use may result in trade-offs and synergies. Accordingly, it is important to …
Fossil-fuel burning for cooking purposes accounts for 12% of PM2.5 pollution in Delhi, traditional stoves produce soot that can cause asthma imla’s eyes burn and a cough escapes her throat as she prepares lunch for her children on a bright winter’s day. A stay-at-home mother, Simla cooks and heats water …
