Bangkok, 5 Sept. (Meena Raman and Prerna Bomzan) – Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), have gathered in Bangkok, Thailand, from Sept. 4 to 9, to accelerate work on producing a negotiating text on the…
Category: Think green
UN Relief Works Agency will prevail despite US funding cut
Geneva, 3 Sep (Kanaga Raja) – Expressing deep regret and disappointment at the decision by the United States on 31 August to provide no additional funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East…
What ails the Ganga
September 4, 2018 SANDRP The Ganga river basin’s importance is well acknowledged. The World Bank that is funding a currently ongoing USD 1 Billion project for Ganga Cleanup says in its Project Appraisal Document: It’s the most populous basin in…
Rohingya crisis report stern test for UNSC: British Minister
Dhaka, Aug 30 – Visiting British State Minister Alistair Burt on Thursday said UN Fact-Finding Mission’s report on the Rohingya crisis is a stern test for the Security Council to act for resolving the problem.
HC issues contempt rule against Home Secy, IGP
Dhaka, Aug 30 – The High Court Division of the Supreme Court yesterday issued a contempt of court rule against the Home Secretary, Inspector General of Police (IGP) and Chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) on the charge of…
Rwanda is saving its important crop – the banana – with SMS
By Aimable Twahirwa Kigali, Aug 29 2018 (IPS) – When Telesphore Ruzigamanzi, a smallholder banana farmer from a remote village in Eastern Rwanda, discovered a peculiar yellowish hue on his crop before it started to dry up, he did not…
Heat forces five US Open retirements on day two
Conditions at the US Open were described as “dangerous” as five men had to retire from their first-round matches on Tuesday because of heat-related issues. Temperatures close to 38C (100F) in New York were made more stifling by humidity levels…
Wrong dams management create floods: India’s officials, experts
August 27, 2018, SANDRP – Accepting that reservoirs operation and flood management in India lack scientific supports, Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, in an interview has revealed that dams and water reservoirs need flood management systems that…
Inclusion in water: breaking down barriers
SOMA GHOSH MOULIK In many countries, women walk over six kilometres to collect water. Between 2006 and 2012 in Niger, women travelled an hour, on average, to fetch water. Worldwide, 4.5 billion people lack access to safely managed sanitation services…
Let food be thy medicine
By Adelheid Onyango and Bibi Giyose Brazzaville, Congo, Aug 14 2018 (IPS) – When faced with a crisis, our natural reaction is to deal with its immediate threats. Ateka (name has been changed) came to the make-shift clinic with profuse…
HC for emergency medical services to road accident victims
The High Court on Wednesday in a verdict directed the government to ensure emergency medical services to the road accident victim at all public and private hospitals of the country.
Release photographer, end crackdown on student protests: AI
Dhaka, Aug 6 – The Bangladeshi authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Shahidul Alam, a well-known photographer and activist, who was detained by plainclothes policemen on 5 August 2018 after giving an interview to Al-Jazeera English on the current wave…
Recipes for sustainability, meal by meal
From Danielle Nierenberg Chef, healthy food advocate and social entrepreneur Sam Kass is drafting a plan for everyone to eat flavorful meals for better health and a better world.
Laos Dam disaster: Yet another wake up call?
SANDRP The various aspects of tragic Dam Disaster in the Mekong Basin in Laos are still unfolding. But it is clear from many accounts that it was an avoidable, man-made disaster due to the neglect of contractors, decision makers, consultants and supervising…
Asia Clean Energy Summit 2018 Oct 31 – Nov 2
Singapore – Media OutReach – 1 August 2018 – The Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) is organising the 5th edition of Asia Clean Energy Summit 2018 (ACES) with speakers setting the benchmark for best practices, debate trends and solutions…
HC directive for ind body to survey motor vehicles’ fitness
Dhaka, July 31 – In a major development, the High Court yesterday directed the government to constitute a national independent inquiry committee including at least 15 experts to conduct a survey on the fitness of the public motor vehicles in…
Iron-enriched millet ups cognitive senses in Indian youths
Washington, D.C.—July 19 – Poor diets lacking in iron limit brain development and learning capacity, hampering the potential of individuals and societies, generation after generation. Countries like India are at the heart of this challenge, as nearly half of all…
প্লাস্টিক রিসাইকেল দূষণ কতোটা কমাতে পারছে?
খাবার থেকে শুরু করে ওষুধ, প্রসাধনী অথবা প্রযুক্তি পণ্য প্রতিটি ক্ষেত্রে বিশ্বের প্রতিটি মানুষ ব্যবহার করছে প্লাস্টিক। এ কারণে সমুদ্র ও প্রকৃতি দূষণের ক্ষেত্রেও সবচেয়ে বড় কারণ হয়ে দাঁড়িয়েছে এই প্লাস্টিক। তবে প্লাস্টিক দূষণের হার কমাতে সচেতনতার দৃষ্টান্ত স্থাপন করেছে…
After jail term, Palestinian teen Ahed Tamimi aims law study
Nabi Saleh, Jul 30 (AP/UNB) — Palestinian teen Ahed Tamimi, who became an international symbol of resistance to Israeli occupation after slapping two soldiers, walked out of an Israeli prison Sunday and told throngs of journalists and well-wishers that she…
Unlocking private-sector funds for sustainable development
by Mahmoud Moh ieldin, Svetlana Klimenko Washington, DC – For the last three years, dozens of countries have gathered each July to present their national plans to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the latest of these United Nations…
Will the grass be greener for the workers?
by Kate Holman What are ‘green jobs’? According to the International Labour Organization, they are “decent jobs that contribute to preserve or restore the environment, be they in traditional sectors such as manufacturing and construction, or in new, emerging green…
15 organizations creating edible landscapes
From Danielle Nierenberg It may be surprising, but turf grass found on lawns, parks, and schoolyards requires up to 34 billion litres (nine billion gallons) of water per day and 31 million kilograms (70 million pounds) of pesticides for maintenance…
Climate resilience to ensure basic survival: The Carribean
In 2004, when the Category 4 hurricane Ivan hit the tiny island nation of Grenada and its 151 mph winds stalled overhead for 15 hours–it devastated the country. But not before pummelling Barbados and other islands, killing at least 15…
Can cities reach the zero waste goal?
By Daniel Gutman Buenos Aires, Jul 23 2018 (IPS) – How should cities address the problem of waste? The most important thing is to set a clear objective: that the day will come when nothing will be sent to final…
Early maturing Boro rice needed, President tells scientists
Mymensingh, July 22 – Farmers in haor areas have to earn their bread and butter depending on its largely mono-crop agricultural system. But sometimes, flash floods cause a huge damage to haor areas. This affects both the haors and the…
Breaking the populism ‘doom loop’
by John Fitzgibbon According to many commentators, we are now in a crisis of democracy – or rather, ‘liberal democracy’ as Cas Mudde persuasively argues. The time has long since passed where the increasing vote share of populist parties could…
‘Technologies that facilitate development should profit all’
From Danielle Nierenberg A sustainable food system requires cultivating equality for the people that nourish the world’s population—farmers. Yet, farmers experience inequality at all levels of the food system. Societal tools— including gendered roles, obstacles to accessing resources, or cultural…
Political Forum on SDGs must address migration
By International Organization for Migration The United States, Jul 17 2018 (IOM) – The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) is a global framework of immense ambition and consequence. It is, as the UN Secretary-General has described it, a…
Air pollution remains cause for alarm in Asia
By Sinsiri Tiwutanond Bangkok, Jul 17 2018 (IPS) – At the start of Bangkok, the pollution in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, reached six times the World Health Organization’s guideline levels for air quality.
We need a food revolution
by Bob Geldof London – In 1984, I gathered the most successful musicians of the time to form a “supergroup” called Band Aid to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. The next year, an even larger grouping was formed…