Environment

Effective governance and improved fiscal management are essential to sustaining robust economic growth and improving its quality, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said in its annual flagship report launched on Monday. The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2017 highlights that despite a...

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) played a major role in channelising global attention towards fundamental development issues. As the MDGs transitioned into Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it has given way to a set of 17 integrated and indivisible goals which are broader and more ambitious in scope. The Indian economy boasts of a vibrant growth...

Sweden is keen to collaborate with Maharashtra on waste management, smart cities, and renewable energy. "I exchanged views with both the governments at the centre and in the state on global climate change efforts, ongoing international negotiations and the potential for bilateral cooperation," visiting Swedish deputy minister on climate Eva Svedling said here today. The minister...

Indian agriculture can overcome problems of climate change and take the path of sustainable and climate-smart agriculture (CSA) by using mitigation techniques and adapting technology and new crop patterns, according to Shyam Khadka. Khadka, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) representative in India, was speaking at a conference organised by the Confederation of Indian...

India recently signed a $175 million loan pact with the World Bank for National Hydrology Project that aims to improve management of water resources.  The project will strengthen the capacity of institutions to assess the water situation in their regions and reduce their vulnerability to recurring flood and droughts, saving hundreds of lives and livelihoods. According...

“When an old person dies, a whole library burns.” The age-old African proverb is apt to explain the significance of ancestral wisdom. Since time immemorial, we all have been hearing and have also witnessed how rural communities across geographies have built an invaluable pool of indigenous practices based on traditional knowledge and wisdom. Farmers predict rainfall...

What is the likelihood of seeing a company board or hoarding in the middle of a lush forest? And even if there was one, it is unlikely that tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of a tiger will give it any attention. Perhaps, it is this lack of visibility that has become the biggest barrier...

India is on the way to become very highly urbanised with 60% of its population expected to live in cities by 2050. But urbanisation is not a new story in India. Bengaluru, India’s Silicon Valley, has gone from being a “City of Lakes” and a “Garden City” to becoming an urban nightmare. A grim...

Asia-Pacific countries have adopted a road map for regional cooperation on implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD 2017) that concluded in Bangkok recently. The road map lays out priority areas, implementation arrangements and a process for tracking progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), building on the agreements reached at the last two APFSD meetings. It will, with the support of the...

The government argued for a plan for sustainable development, balancing the need to protect the environment and continued growth at the third World Conference on Environment organised by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in New Delhi. Finance minister Arun Jaitley pointed out that the Indian society was at a “critical juncture” with challenges like pulling...

The figures are stark. Nearly 1.8 billion people – or about 25 % of the world’s population, do not have access to safe drinking water and an estimated two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages by 2025. In India, more than 81 percent of adults, well over the global average, say they have changed their behavior...

Development regulations in Tamil Nadu are a taking a definite green turn, with the authorities involved considering a slew of proposals to address water, waste, green cover and other environmental concerns for all the new buildings. The initiative comes at a time when environmental issues are increasingly becoming a matter of serious concern. The...