“Agriculture as a driver of deforestation” is one of a very select list of topics that the new UNFCCC REDD+ work program will tackle in Bonn this month. Optimistic visions are that financed actions to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation will benefit not only carbon storage, but also biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and poverty

[continue reading...]

Nitin Desai has been a key player at the national and international levels in laying down policies on the environment and climate change issues. The former UN under secretary-general is currently a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate change. In an interview with FE’s Saikat Neogi and Rajiv Tikoo, he gives an insight

[continue reading...]

Preliminary data from the US government shows that carbon dioxide levels peaked last week at the highest levels on record. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have reached a new peak despite the economic recession in western countries and assurances from politicians that they intend to cut emissions, new research has shown. Preliminary data from

[continue reading...]

Thimphu, the fast-developing capital of the Kingdom of Bhutan, is one of the cities most vulnerable to climate change in the world. But it is unprepared for the crisis, reports Dawa T Wangchuk. Over the past few decades, Thimphu – the capital of Bhutan – has transformed from a beautiful little town into a modern,

[continue reading...]

Demand for food to rise 70-90% by 2050 as production capacity drops: report A “broken” food system coupled with depleting natural resources and severe climate change will more than double the price of staples such as corn in the next two decades as demand spirals, hitting poor people the hardest, according to an Oxfam International

[continue reading...]

Urban sprawl is driving a deepening water crisis in Nepal’s capital. Ramesh Prasad Bhushal reports from the Kathmandu valley as part of a chinadialogue series on urbanisation in the Himalayas. Editor’s note: today, continuing a special series on urbanisation in the Himalayas, chinadialogue presents the voices of local journalists in Nepal and Bhutan, who describe some

[continue reading...]

There is a need to develop the Nepal Climate Change Knowledge Management Centre (NCCKMC) as a national-level scientific institution that will work in authenticating data and sharing science-based information on climate change in the country, experts said on Monday. In a meeting with climate change practitioners organised by the National Academy of Science and Technology

[continue reading...]

The world can be powered by more renewable energy and we don’t need to delay the transition to more sustainable energy sources, says IUCN. IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) strongly supports the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in their Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation,

[continue reading...]

The authors write that “the study of precipitation trends is critically important for a country like India, whose food security and economy are dependent on the timely availability of water.” And since they say that “according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007), future climate change is likely to … increase the risk

[continue reading...]

In this section we covered the Celebration of World Environment Day on 5 June 2011 across Himalayan Region. It covers news from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and  Pakistan. About WED: World Environment Day (WED) is an annual event that is aimed at being the biggest and most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action. WED activities

[continue reading...]

THE Ganges River, India’s heavily polluted spiritual artery, has dropped to alarmingly low levels and begun receding from the historic Varanasi Ghats, which attract millions of pilgrims and tourists each year. Environmentalists say levels in the upper reaches of the river below the Himalayas, as well as downstream, are several metres lower than they should

[continue reading...]