Full Coverage: Environment

30.04.2008 Delhi based Centre for Science and Environment invites applications for a two-month summer certificate course on the policies, politics and practices of environmental management. Last date to apply is May 10, 2008.

30.04.2008 Villages in Orissa on the eastern coast of India are sinking into the sea. In last four months many families have been forced to flee as rising waters have submerged their homes and farmlands. Despite assurances from government, the displaced families are yet to be resettled.

29.04.2008 Eco Everest Expedition 2008, organised by Asian Trekking and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, is now featured on ‘Google Earth Outreach Showcase’. Key findings of ICIMOD’s scientific research expeditions on the impact of climate change in the Everest region can be downloaded from the website.

28.04.2008 Helena Norberg Hodge first visited Ladakh in northern India in 1973 to study its culture and language. Fascinated by its gentle people and their earth-based way of life, she kept returning every year since then. In a freewheeling interview, she discusses how annihilation of the local culture can be stopped.

28.04.2008 Despite being one of the most environmentally vigilant nations, Bhutan faces threat of disastrous floods owing to glacial melting. The Himalayan kingdom, where sustainable development forms the core of public policy goals, is at the receiving end due to the damage caused by countries like China and India.

24.04.2008 New research predicts a rise in sea levels three times higher than that estimated by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year. These findings, based on a model following accurate reconstruction of sea levels over past two millennia, were presented at a European Geosciences Union conference in Austria recently.

24.04.2008 Dr Marcella DÂ’Souza, executive director of Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) in western India, has been awarded the Indian Merchant Chambers' Woman Of The Year Award. During an interview to OneWorld South Asia, she talks of her dream where rural folk live in harmony, secure sustainable livelihoods and enjoy an enhanced quality of life.

22.04.2008 Kristine Pearson, chief executive of Freeplay Foundation, is the creator of the wind-up and solar-powered Lifeline radio, the first such initiative in the humanitarian sector. She emphasises the use of renewable and clean energy solutions to improve access to communication for the poor.

21.04.2008 The ILO conference that opens today in Niigata, Japan, will focus on environmental impact on jobs and sustainable economies. Green jobs are activities that de-carbonize economies and protect ecosystems while saving energy. These new patterns of work will be crucial for adaptation and mitigation efforts to climate changes, says ILO.

21.04.2008 An NGO in southern India has succeeded in bringing hundreds of hectares of village common land under conservation planning with the help of local village administration. The effort has positively impacted peopleÂ’s basic needs of fuel, fodder and drinking water.

17.04.2008 Celebrated Indian wildlife filmmaker Mike Pandey feels that corporate groups should fund documentaries as part of their social responsibilities, which can be used to sensitise urban audiences on the need to preserve nature. He is of the view that most of the policies on environment protection in India remain on paper.

14.04.2008 Indian finance minister P. Chindambaram, while speaking at the Spring Meetings of the World Bank in Washington, has put forward new steps to combat climate change such as ‘climate proofing’ of public infrastructure investments. He says India has taken several unilateral measures to promote clean technology.

10.04.2008 Despite the ban on hunting since 1991, rampant corruption and poor law enforcement have made it possible for poachers and forest dwellers to feast on some of India's endangered species. The craze for bushmeat is leading many creatures to near-extinction, says Shruti Ravindran

09.04.2008 Coca-ColaÂ’s bottling plant in northern India has been facing the ire of local people. They say the soft drink maker has been operating illegally and has caused the severe water crisis in the area.

08.04.2008 Asian Development Bank withdrawing from controversial Phulbari coal mining project in Bangladesh is being seen as a major victory for human rights movement. Drawing inspiration from this success, national and international civil society groups are now urging other financial institutions to pull the rug from under the British mining company.

08.04.2008 The knowledge of indigenous people living in remote islands, coastal plains and mountains must not be overlooked by policymakers while devising adaptation strategies in matters of global warming, says a report. Often they are the people who know best how to adapt to the severity of changing climate.

08.04.2008 Often marginalised from the political power, minorities all over the world have little or no voice in decision-making. State of the WorldÂ’s Minorities 2008, a flagship publication of Minority Rights Group provides a comprehensive account of the impact of climate change on the minorities and indigenous people and highlights some opportunities for change.

04.04.2008 International scientists during a workshop held in Kathmandu, Nepal have called for better monitoring and improved data sharing on Himalayan ice and snow. These resources are undergoing rapid changes and can have a major impact on the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in the region.

02.04.2008 The climate change talks, currently going on in Bangkok, will deal with commitments made by the developed nations to meet their greenhouse gas emission targets. The current round will also negotiate for a post Kyoto Protocol global environmental treaty to be sealed during the Copenhagen meet in 2009.

01.04.2008 To compensate states for the environmental damage incurred by power generation, the Indian government is devising ways by which money will be paid by the company, agency, or the state buying power.