GreenWatch Report Leaders of the International Farakka Committee (IFC) said on Friday that excessive floods and too much of water scarcity faced in Bangladesh during wet and dry seasons are the outcomes of Unsustainable river management of rivers.
Category: Natural
Cancel public hearings on Pancheswar Dam: SANDRP
GreenWatch Report The South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) has demanded cancellation of the public hearings being organised for the Pancheswar Dam, based on the Mahakali Treaty with Nepal, in the Uttarakhand state of India, on the…
Conservation agriculture sprouts in Cuban fields
By Ivet González Los Palacios, Cuba, Aug 10 (IPS) – At the entrance, the Tierra Brava farm looks like any other family farm in the rural municipality of Los Palacios, in the westernmost province of Cuba. But as you drive…
Why world needs indigenous communities to steward their lands
By Manipadma Jena Bhubaneswar, India, Aug 7 (IPS) – “Showing them a picture-book crow, I intone ‘kaak’ in Bengali, the State language. While others repeat in chorus, the tribal Santhali first-graders respond with a blank look. They know the crow…
Tanguar Haor’s unique biodiversity under threat
Dhaka, Aug 8 – Blue skies above, green fields underneath the clean water of the depression and chirping of domestic and migratory birds attract nature lovers and tourists to Tanguar Haor, one of the many wetlands located in Sunamganj a…
Keep four rivers surrounding Dhaka free from pollution
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday ordered the authorities concerned to strengthen their efforts to keep the four rivers surrounding the capital free from pollution.”These four rivers will die if those are not freed from wastes and pollution,” she said…
Value of water is on the rise
By Rafiqul Islam Dhaka (IPS) – In the wake of recent water-related disasters in Bangladesh, including water-logging and floods that displaced thousands of families, a high-level consultation in the capital Dhaka on valuing water will look at ways to optimize…
Jointly managing South Asia’s stressed water resources
By Rafiqul Islam Dhaka, Aug 1 (IPS) – Experts and policymakers here say regional cooperation is a must to resolve long-standing water problems in South Asian countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India and Nepal, and to harness the full value…
Erroneous reporting about Ken Betwa River Link
Himanshu Thakkar leading water activist of India and coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People (SANDRP) has pointed out an erroneous reporting by the Indian Express on the Ken Betwa link, the first link of the…
4 N’ganj factories fined for polluting environment
Dhaka – The Department of Environment (DoE) on Tuesday fined four factories Tk 61.86 lakh for polluting the environment in Narayanganj.
Toilets as the path to health and dignity
Guangzhe CHEN Mollar Bosti is a crowded slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, home to 10,000 people: garment workers, rickshaw drivers, and small traders, all living side-by-side in tiny rooms sandwiched along narrow passageways.
Twenty initiatives saving seeds for future generations
Danielle Nierenberg By saving, exchanging, and re-using seeds over thousands of years, farmers and gardeners carefully selected crops for various traits adapted to many growing conditions and climates, creating a rich genetic plant heritage that formed the base of the…
Water scarcity hotspots shifting
New York – Reservoirs, dams and irrigation systems have shifted global patterns of water scarcity over three decades, “causing a distinct pattern of beneficiaries and losers”, according to recent research.
Confronting Africa’s water challenge
Akinwumi Adesina Abidjan – Water is essential for life, and yet it is scarce in many parts of the world. Owing to the effects of climate change, Africa is experiencing its worst drought since 1945, especially in Southern Sudan, Somalia,…
2 billion people don’t have access to clean water
By Roshni Majumdar UN, Jul 13 (IPS) – More than two billion people lack access to clean and safe drinking water, according to a new report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Indian SC slams Centre for defying its conservation of wetlands order
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday blasted the Centre for not complying with its order to frame rules for preservation of wetlands and warned that it would send the environment secretary behind bars if the government failed to give…
87 percent people now under safe water coverage
Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain on Tuesday told Parliament that 87 percent of the country’s population is now under safe water coverage.“The remaining 13 percent also collect safe water from other distant sources,” he said…
Himachal Pradesh private cos surrender hydro power projects
In a remarkable trend emerging in hydro sector in Himachal Pradesh, many leading private companies have started surrendering hydro power projects allotted to them by State Govt. As per the news report, Tata Group, Reliance, Jindal and Larsen & Toubro…
Ganges and Yamuna are ‘not living entities’: Indian SC
India’s revered Ganges and Yamuna rivers cannot be viewed as living entities, the Supreme Court has ruled. It overruled an order made in March by the High Court in Uttarakhand state, which said that the two rivers had the same…
Thai support for BD to join Mekong-Ganges Forum eyed
Dhaka, July 6, – Thailand on Thursday assured Bangladesh of extending support in its race to become a member of the regional bodies including Mekong-Ganges Cooperation Forum and East-West Economic Corridor.
Water use innovations ‘crucial’ to face climate change
By IPS World Desk Rome, Jul 5 (IPS) – In the Near East and North Africa region, the per capita renewable water availability is around 600 cubic metres per person per year –only 10 per cent of the world average-…
Govt has enough preparation to face flood, says PM
Dhaka – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said the government has all the necessary preparation to face possible natural disasters like flood. –UNB
Flood situation in Northeast BD deteriorates
Dhaka – The flood situation in northern and northestern districts has deteriorated due to incessant heavy rain and onrush of water from the bordering Assam and Meghalaya hills submerging many areas of north-eastern parts of the country.
A journey along the Teesta river in Sikkim
Guest Blog by Gauri Noolkar-Oak A day later, I set out on the last leg of my journey – through Sikkim, to the source. The journey from Kalimpong to Singtam and further to Mangan was breathtaking. The mountains grew taller…
Northern regions of BD brace for floods: Rivers cross red marks
Dhaka – River levels at some places are risinging fast and the country is likely to face severe flood soon, water experts have said. Waters of Teesta, Surma and Kushiyara rivers are flowing above danger level at five points.
A journey along the Teesta River in W Bengal
Guest Blog by Gauri Noolkar-Oak The minute I crossed over the Indo-Bangladesh border into India at Chengrabandha, the atmosphere changed instantly; more briskness, more people and more English and Hindi surrounded me. I also spotted posters of Baahubali 2, and…
A Journey along the Teesta in Bangladesh
Guest Blog by Gauri Noolkar-Oak Few journeys take us through a string of experiences that nourish the senses and the soul. A thoroughbred urban, city-lover, I nevertheless knew deep down that my journey of such nourishment would be with a…
Can new protections save Dhaka’s dying rivers?
Experts and environmentalists have criticised Bangladesh’s environment agency for its decision to declare four dying rivers around Dhaka as ecologically critical areas (ECAs).
Water-sanitation for all: 4 pol errors to avoid
by Nathaniel Mason Eliminating inequality is integral to the Sustainable Development Goals, from ‘universal access’ to water, to ending poverty ‘everywhere’. Yet in a world where the politics of who gets what is increasingly polarised, leaving no-one behind is fundamentally…