By Desmond Brown The base for a water catchment tank. Faced with severe droughts, many farmers in the Caribbean have found it necessary to set up catchment areas to harvest water whenever it rains. Credit: CDB PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,…
Category: Green corner
Save Sundarbans and Green Energy confce in Berlin
Berlin, (Germany) – The construction of a 1320 MW capacity coal-fired power plant is going on near the world largest mangrove forest Sundarbans in Bangladesh. According to the researchers, this coal fired power plant will endanger the biodiversity of this…
BNP balmes Govt-Justice Khairul for air of ‘volatility’
Dhaka, Aug 18– BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday alleged that the government is deliberately trying to create a volatile situation in the country to ‘perpetuate’ its power.
Weathering the violence of climate change
Gulrez Shah Azhar Santa Monica – With India experiencing its worst drought in 140 years, Indian farmers have taken to the streets. At a protest in Madhya Pradesh this summer, police opened fire on farmers demanding debt relief and better…
A greener grid for East Asia
Sung-Young Kim and John A. Mathews Sydney – Not long ago, the future of nuclear power was in Asia. In 2015, nine of the ten reactors that opened globally were on the continent. But recent declarations by South Korea and…
Historic settlement in ACLU case of three torture victims
“It is a clear warning for anyone who thinks they can torture with impunity.” New York — In a first for a case involving CIA torture, the American Civil Liberties Union announced a settlement today in the lawsuit against the…
Unsustainable river management causes excessive floods-water scarcity: IFC
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.
Minamata Convention, curbing mercury use, is now legally binding
By IPS World Desk Rome, Aug 16 (IPS) – The Minamata Convention — a legally-binding landmark treaty, described as the first new environmental agreement in over a decade – entered into force August 16.
Wonder woman should still be a UN Ambassador
By Felix Dodds New York, Aug 15 (IPS) – I realize it’s a lot easier saying this now after the film of the same name has come out and has taken over $400 million in US box office receipts. It…
Gharial released at Rajshahi Zoo
As part of a Gharial exchange programme, an adult male Gharial was released at Rajshahi Zoo on Sunday morning bringing it from National Zoo (Dhaka) aiming to create pairs and thus boost the population of the critically endangered freshwater reptiles.“The…
Safe accommodation for working women far too little
Dhaka, Aug 13 – Women’s participation in outdoor jobs in the country is increasing at a faster pace than expected but having safe and secure living places for such single women in the capital still remains a distant dream. Private…
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…
Jordan makes strides toward inclusive green economy
By Safa Khasawneh Amman, Aug 10 (IPS) – Jordan may be one of the smallest economies in the Middle East, but it has high ambitions for inclusive green growth and sustainable development despite the fact that it lies in the…
BD now on global tourism map: Minister
Dhaka, Aug 10 – Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon on Thursday said Bangladesh is now on the global tourism map with its growing presence though it could not successfully attract the international tourists in a significant way…
BNP finds Justice Khairul’s remarks on SC verdict indecent
Dhaka, Aug 10 – BNP on Thursday termed ‘indecent and tantamount to contempt of court’ the remarks of Law Commission Chairman ABM Khairul Haque on Chief Justice SK Sinha and the Supreme Court’s verdict that annulled the 16th constitutional amendment.
Bogra rape victim taken to Rajshahi safe home
Dhaka, Aug 8 – The female student who was reportedly raped by Sramik League leader Tufan Sarkar was taken from Bogra to a safe home and her mother to a support centre in Rajshahi on Monday night.
World still lags on indigenous rights 10 years after historic declaration
By Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine, Albert K. Barume and Victoria Tauli-Corpuz Geneva/New York, Aug 7, (IPS) – The world’s indigenous peoples still face huge challenges a decade after the adoption of a historic declaration on their rights, a group of United…
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…
No scope for fresh interpretation on Article 70: HC
Dhaka – A High Court bench on Tuesday said that in the Appellate Division verdict there is no chance for further discussion or fresh interpretation over the observations regarding Article 70 of the Constitution, which was upheld by the Appellate…
US notifies UN of Paris climate deal pullout
The Trump administration has issued its first written notification that the US intends to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
Guyana’s Model Green Town reflects ambitious national plan
Bartica, Guyana, Aug 3 (IPS) – At the head of Guyana’s Essequibo River, 50 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean, you will find the town of Bartica. Considered the gateway to Guyana’s interior, the town has a population of about…
Which country is the most sustainable?
Danielle Nierenberg The Food Sustainability Index (FSI), developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) with the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN) Foundation, ranks countries on food system sustainability based on three pillars: food loss and waste, sustainable agriculture,…
S Asia to be too hot to live in by 2100
South Asia, home to one-fifth of the world’s population, could see humid heat rise to unsurvivable levels by century’s end if nothing is done to halt global warming. A study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers, published in the Science…
Buses go off Nothern BD routes protesting extortion
Dhaka, Aug 3 – Plying of buses remained stopped from Wednesday night on Natore-Bogra and some other routes in Bangladesh’s northern region as the District Bus Owners Association enforced an indefinite bus strike protesting realisation of extortion on the route.
China seeks to export its green finance model to the world
Hand in hand with UN Environment and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) disembarked in the Argentine capital to prompt this country to adopt and promote the agenda of so-called green finance, which supports clean…
Dams turning floods into disasters: Sandrp
All through the month of July, several states in India have been battling severe flood situation. The Northeastern (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam), Western (Rajasthan Gujarat), Central (Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh) and Eastern (Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal) regions have been particularly affected…
Hukou Waterfall reopens to visitors after flood
The Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River reopened to tourists Sunday, after torrential rain in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province caused the river to flood last week. The waterfall was closed to visitors from July 26 due to flooding in northern…
World Tiger Day Saturday
The World Tiger Day will be observed in the country, as elsewhere across the globe, on Saturday to build awareness to save the remaining population of the majestic big cat from extinction.The tiger population is declining alarmingly in the Bangladesh…
Can economic growth be really green?
By IPS World Desk Rome/Seoul, Jul 27, (IPS) – The answer to this big question is apparently “yes” – Economic growth can be really green. How? The facts are there. For instance, in 2016, solar power became the cheapest form…
India-Bangladesh to sign MoU on elephant conservation
India and Bangladesh are expected to soon sign a MoU on elephant conservation and management as top forest and environment officials of both the countries met in Shillong on Thursday to discuss on how best to alleviate the human-elephant conflicts.…