New Delhi: Moving forward with its grand plan of linking rivers across the country, India’s Centre on Monday announced that it will take up the task of connecting Manas-Sankosh-Teesta-Ganga in Assam, West Bengal and Bihar. The three states will soon…
Samir Mehta samir@internationalrivers.org Widely hailed as ‘green’ sources of renewable energy, hydroelectric dams have been built worldwide at an unprecedented scale. But research from the University of East Anglia reveals that these major infrastructure projects are far from environmentally friendly.…
Bangladesh will face severe water crisis within next couple of decades due to random contamination of surface and ground water, absence of comprehensive water sharing with neighbouring countries and mismanagement in preserving rain water. According to water experts, although the…
A report from the Indian water resources ministry underlines, for the first time, the importance of ‘e-flows’ in river basin planning, so that the rivers are able to carry out all the functions needed to sustain entire riparian systems. Shripad…
by Thalif Deen UN, Jun (IPS) – As the United Nations continues its negotiations to both define and refine a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) before a summit meeting of world leaders in September, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has…
The Water Journalism Fellowship awards and certificates for 2014 offered by the Touching Souls International, USA, were distributed at a simple ceremony at the National Press Club on Thursday. The Fellowship on Water Journalism is being offered by Touching Souls…
BNP considers no agreement on Teesta water sharing with India as the failure of Awami League-led government. “It is certainly a failure of the government as no deal was signed on Teesta water sharing during Modi’s visit. The whole nation…
By Jessica Cheam and Jean Chua Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy in helping the country achieve water sustainability is embodied in one of the water industry’s most treasured awards, the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize. Four decades…
Water experts and activists at a roundtable in Dhaka city on Saturday underlined the need for greater awareness among the people to compel the government to undertake initiatives for durable and holistic settlement of Teesta water management. Dwelling on ‘Teesta…
Water insecurity costs the global economy some US$ 500 billion annually, according to Global Water Partnership (GWP). That figure does not take into account environmental impacts so the total drag on the world economy could be 1% or more of…
Water experts on Sunday urged the government to strengthen cooperation with neighbouring countries to address the future water demand as water scarcity is growing in the South Asia region. “It’s imperative to have a regional cooperation for river basin management,…
Environmentalists at a discussion meeting in the Capital on Saturday alleged that government organisations are least bothered about conserving groundwater, rainwater and water reservoirs, as they are active on water use from underground sources. They warned that the government will…
March 14 is the International Day of Action for Rivers and Against Dams. Every year, thousands of people around the world lift their voices to celebrate the world’s rivers and those who struggle to protect them. The International Day of…
Pressure on fresh water resources may be the main global threat in the next decade, but the world is failing to mitigate the risk and avoid a crisis, according to a survey of leaders from business, government, universities, international organisations…
Scientists conducting a global study of coral reefs are surveying the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean after selecting it as the latest destination to gather data to aid worldwide conservation efforts. A crew from the Catlin Seaview Survey is…
The Global Water Partnership (GWP) launched in early February a campaign to maintain a dedicated water goal on the UN post-2015 development agenda. Countries are currently negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the United Nations Post-2015 Development…
SANTIAGO- The Interoceanic Canal that will run through Lake Nicaragua could kill life in the vast lake and have other serious effects on the country’s environment and economy unless safeguards are put in place, an independent international panel of experts…
Two years ago, Anand Shah, founder of Indian firm Sarvajal, wrote in our op-ed pages about how the company had developed solar-powered ‘water ATMs’ to get clean and affordable water to people in remote parts of India. Shah ended by…
Brazil’s Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira has said the country’s most populous region is experiencing its worst drought since 1930. The states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais must save water, she said after an emergency meeting in…
As the flow of the Teesta River has hit extremely low – less than one fourth of the flow recorded between 1973 and 1985) levels seriously affecting its environment Bangladesh has written to India to ensure adequate flow of the…
Rights and environmental activists at a discussion in Dhaka on Sunday described the pervasive corruption and irregularities at the state-owned Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) as the main obstacle to the protection of rivers and development of the shipping…
Existing surface water resources especially the Baranai River flowing through the northern part of the city is being heavily polluted and contaminated with disposal of wastes and toxic chemicals, scientists and researchers here said.
Speakers at a roundtable in Dhaka on Saturday called for concerted efforts to unite the people against threats to the country’s physical and environmental security posed by diversion of rivers that have treated and sustained Bangladesh for ages. This land…
The International Farakka Committee New York Inc would organise a demonstration before the United Nations in February to protest the diversion of water of all common rivers at upstream of Bangladesh and the move to construct 16 new barrages on…
The International Farakka Committee (IFC) today orgaised a human chain to protest the move to construct another 16 barrages at the upper reaches of the Ganges and unilateral withdrawal of water of the Teesta and all other common rivers, in…
Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan has shot down an environment ministry recommendation to permanently shut down Sundarbans Shela River route. “We are not thinking about closing the route yet,” he said after an inter ministerial meeting Sunday. Ministry of Environment and…
How ecosystem services can be integrated to enhance resilience of the coastal islands against climate change through planned actions to stop erosion and accelerate land accretion was the topic of a draft project proposal submitted at a consultation organised by…
Five days after oil tanker ‘OT Southern Star 7’ capsized in the Shela River, the authorities on Saturday started removing the spilled oil from 30 cannels of the Sundarbans engaging 200 workers. Amir Hossain, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Sundarbans…
Ronny Jumeau, Seychelles Ambassador for Climate Change and SIDS Issues For islanders, the ocean is never an afterthought. The ocean is at the core of every part of our lives; we are shaped by it and in turn the way…
Maika Müller, Global Water Partnership (GWP) Water is the common medium through which a changing climate impacts us, but it is also the bloodstream of our universal wellbeing. The impacts of climate change through water are revealed in extreme weather…