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 …
A national consultative meeting on management of preventing natural disasters that take place in the South Asian countries kicked off in the capital on Wednesday. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bamdev Gautam attended the inaugural function of the meeting organised by the European Commission (EC). The meeting …
President Pratibha Patil recently issued a clarion call for implementing the "total cleanliness mission" in all villages by 2012, saying that sanitation was a key issue. Nearly 250 crore people in the world, most in the Third World, lacked this facility and that the international community, including the UN, was …
Dhole (Cuon alpinus), a pack-hunting canid, is a coursing predator of the Asian jungles. It preys on wild ungulates such as Sambar and Wild Pig and also on livestock when available. The propensity of Dholes to attack livestock, however, had resulted in the people of Bhutan nearly eradicating Dholes in …
The last few decades have witnessed a sweeping change in the food production scenario of South Asia. India, the largest of the South Asian economies, is now largely self-sufficient in foodgrain and is an emerging exporter. While the other countries of the region remain dependent on cereal imports, the per …
Vultures in genetic bottleneck as vulture population declines in south Asia, scientists have warned of a possible risk. The oriental white-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis), classified critically endangered by the iucn, may soon lose its genetic diversity unless immediate measures are taken. The bird was numbered tens of millions in India, …
This publication lists and briefly details the regulatory instruments comprising laws/acts/decrees/regulations/rules related to biosafety of products of biotechnology for agriculture and food existing in 39 countries of Asia and the Pacific. Besides, additional chapters have been included to introduce the readers to recent developments in agricultural biotechnology in the region, …
Rising air pollution levels in South Asia will have worldwide environmental consequences. Transport of pollutants from the densely populated regions of India, Pakistan, China, and Nepal to the Himalayas may lead to substantial radiative forcing in South Asia with potential effects on the monsoon circulation and, hence, on regional climate …
This report looks at the importance of effective management of trade in wild species in order to maximize its potential to deliver on the MDGs. It also presents the findings of three case studies: the wild meat trade in East and Southern Africa; the skin and wool trade in Latin …
How did South Asian societies rebuild their economies following natural disasters? Based on five episodes from colonial India, this article suggests that between the mid-nineteenth and the mid-twentieth century, the response to disasters changed from laissez-faire to more state intervention. Despite this change, post-disaster rebuilding was complicated by unspecified rights …
United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Sri Lanka's Ministry of Water and Drainage, and the Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Government have sponsored a national workshop in Sri Lanka to disseminate best practices in sanitation management.
Doing Business 2009 is the sixth in a series of annual reports investigating regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 181 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time.
This report examines the output elasticity of infrastructure for four South Asian countries viz., India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka using Pedroni
Aarti Dhar NEW DELHI: With 75 per cent of the population or 2 billion people in the Asia-Pacific region at risk, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked the member states to take concrete measures urgently in order to control the spread of dengue. The severity of the public health …
Governance in the water sector is crucially important since the overarching goal of water security is to ensure the mitigation of global water crisis. Water security in mainland South Asia (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan) hinges upon the fulfillment of two conditions. One is the avaiability or supply of …
The recent trends of rising world food prices have received wide attention in South Asia due to their potential impact on the food security of its population. Although countries in the region have achieved near food self-sufficiency at the national level, most of them continue to be net importers of …
The World Bank Group extended loans, credits, grants, equity investments, and guarantees totalling over $5.5 billion to South Asia in fiscal year 2008. The funding supports 79 new projects designed to overcome poverty and boost growth through practical plans enhancing the business and investment environment and empowering poor people, says …
South Asia's endangered Great One-horned Rhinoceros is being driven out of its natural habitat in search of food into the hands of illegal poachers, experts said on Thursday. A meeting of the Asian Rhino Specialist Group in Nepal said that the massive animal's feeding grounds were being invaded by "exotic …
The Asian brick industry is a huge economic sector employing many millions of people and consuming sizeable amounts of energy, mostly in the form of coal and firewood. It is a very conservative and change-resistant industry, especially in South Asia, but has a very interesting potential for change. If it …
