Kashmir Life (Srinagar, India): Tonnes of trash dumped in Indian Kashmir during an annual religious pilgrimage pose a serious threat to the region’s water supplies and flora, environmental groups warn. The trash is dumped during an annual trek to a shrine in the Amarnath cave, 3,800 meters (12,800 feet) up in the Himalayas, which is [...]

Guardian: Dirty snow melts faster than clean snow. Nowhere is this clearer than on the glaciers of the Himalayas, where scientists have recorded accelerated melting, coinciding with a greying of the glaciers. Photo: Scientists have recorded accelerated melting, coinciding with the greying of the glaciers. Photograph: Paul Souders/Corbis Asia’s industrial revolution is pumping out lots [...]

Brisbane times: If you enjoyed a cup of coffee this morning, it might interest you to know it took 140 litres of water to produce that cup. Such a simple but profound equation. It is strange, strange, strange that when it comes to the most important subject on the planet, the basis of all life [...]

IPS: South Africa, Nov 30, 2011: Managing the impact of increased disasters due to climate change will only be possible if such efforts are led by local communities, say non-governmental organisations working in climate change. “We cannot use the excuse of money – or the lack of it – not to do anything. Yes, developed [...]

Eurasia Review: Time has come to become serious about the future of the river. There is a growing perception that the Ganga might completely dry in next fifty years if no effective action is taken to purify the river, keep the flow of its water intact and control the global warming. There cannot be a [...]

Deccan Herald: The government has earmarked Rs 15,000 crore more to make the river pollution free. Thousands of people took a holy dip in the Ganga river at Patna on the occasion of one of the most auspicious festival Chhath this year, but an equal number avoided the sacred river in the wake of reports [...]

MRD Journal: Winter Tourism and Climate Change in the Alps: An Assessment of Resource Consumption, Snow Reliability, and Future Snow making Potential The winter tourism industry is facing considerable challenges with climate change; it is increasingly responding with investments in snow making facilities. We present a study on 3 tourism destinations in the Swiss Alps [...]

Sunday Morning Herald: Amid the bullishness about Asia’s economic future, and the potential for Australia to benefit, there’s a nasty downside risk that can’t be ignored – climate change. With more than half the world’s population, Asia has more at stake than any other region. It has become the largest contributor to the global increase [...]

Asian Age: Wetlands consist of marshes, swamps, bogs and similar areas. The functions of wetlands are filtering out of sediments and nutrients from the surface water and support all life forms through extensive food webs and bio-diversity. Wetlands contribute to a number of important processes including movement of water into streams and rivers, decay of [...]

New York Times: Nepalganj (Nepal)-Here’s an unlikely starting point for clean energy: No toilets, and plenty of dung. In developing countries where domestic animals are ubiquitous and sewage systems rare, biogas technology — in this case methane derived from feces — can provide both valuable fuel and improved sanitation. Unlike directly burning animal dung, the [...]

Kuenselonline: The Big Four ought to do their bit to reduce the waste created from consuming their products. Cold Drinks Companies It is a very common sight to find disposed plastic bottles littering an area almost anywhere in Bhutan. The most common brands on these disposed plastic bottles belong to four major companies of Bhutan Agro, [...]

Times of India: An environmental group is asking the Nepal government to consider installing portable toilets on Mount Everest for climbers caught short at the roof of the world. Eco Himal says the thousands of trekkers who set off from the South Base Camp in Nepal each year would do a better job of keeping [...]

The Hindu: Believe it or not, the humble earthworm can be the latest weapon in the war against climate change. A major four-year-old study has revealed that instead of just wriggling around and providing food for birds, earthworms – have been burrowing their way through the ground for 300 million years – can help prevent [...]

Economic Times: Increasing pollution levels are threatening fresh water bodies worldwide, but the problem is assuming the shape of an environmental crisis in a developing country like India. A study of lakes in Thane, Maharashtra, undertaken by environmental chemist Pravin Singare of Bhavan’s College, Mumbai, and colleagues, shows how they are being contaminated by the [...]

Telegraph: The prediction comes in a report which shows that the country’s carbon footprint is expanding far faster than predicted. A combination of an infrastructure building spree and the ramping up of carbon-intensive industries after the 2008 financial crisis means China is now being catapulted into the ranks of developed world countries when it comes [...]

International Rivers: It’s hot in here, it’s hot in here, there’s too much carbon in the atmosphere!” As I heard this chant led through a megaphone this past Saturday, I had to smile. For those of you who attended sporting events at a US high school or college, or, like me, were a cheerleader, this [...]

Guardian: Climate change is altering the face of the Himalayas but research seeking to confirm this is yet to catch up with the mountain communities sounding the alarm. After an 18-day trek with scientists, Suzanne Goldenberg finds the warning signs hard to ignore. The climb to Everest base camp is a journey into a monochrome [...]

Pabitra Mukhopadhyay: The importance of Climate Himalaya’s knowledge banking and outreach building efforts, one expects, should be portrayed in our essays. An appeal for a pan Himalayan co-operation is already expressed by Noreen, which apart from making good sense for Himalayan people shines a hope for redemption of the long troubled relationship of two neighboring [...]

Guardian UK: Nepal wants to lift itself out of poverty by expanding its tourism industry but there is no strategy for waste disposal. There’s nothing like waking up to bright clear skies with spectacular views of the Lhotse and Amu Dablam ranges – and a rubbish dump. This heap of beer cans, mineral water bottles [...]

Sunday Morning Herald: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said he hopes Australia will “lead the way” globally in combating climate change. Mr Ban was in Sydney on Thursday to give his only Australian public lecture. Speaking at the University of Sydney, he talked of the need for world leaders to address global challenges including [...]

Environment Expert: There is a big potential to cut greenhouse gases (GHGs) from municipal solid waste management, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). The report, ‘Waste opportunities – Past and future climate benefits from better municipal waste management in Europe’, covers the EU-27 (excluding Cyprus), Norway and Switzerland. It estimates [...]

TheHimalayanTimes: Minister for Environment, Sunil Kumar Manandhar said the government was going to ban the use of plastic bags of less than 20 micron in the country to be effective from the next week. The offenders will be fined between Rs. 500 to Rs. 50,000, according to Minister Manandhar. Speaking at a program, “Disaster Risk [...]

Truth Drive: Ladakh has been gradually climbing out of the devastation that struck in August last year when a cloudburst over Leh resulted in massive quantities of water pouring down from the sky on a sleeping population. What followed as was watched by the world in horror were massive mudslides destroying in its wake, homes, [...]

HindustanTimes: The Ganga is the cleanest river in the world. Mumbai does not have slums. And Delhi is the politest city in the universe. Unless you are one of those ‘Mera Bharat Mahan’ t-shirt-wearing types (only statements, not action) who believe that the Golden Age of India is never-ending and the country is in an [...]

Environmental Expert: Imagine a community where residents voluntarily separate their household wastes into 24 discrete categories for recycling, where recycling centers are located in almost every neighborhood, and where local coordinators actively promote recycling and waste minimization. It’s happening now in Oizumi, a small rural community about 75 miles (120 km) northwest of Tokyo, Japan. [...]

Alertnet: Bangladesh is getting involved in carbon credit trading with the certification of a recycling plant that converts organic waste into compost. “We collect some 100 tonnes of vegetable waste from two city markets daily and recycle it in our plant in the city’s suburbs through composting. If that waste had been dumped in the [...]

KerlaNext: You reach the banks of the historic Indus River, envisioning crystal clear waters and idyllic surroundings. But heaps of garbage, plastic bottles and remnants of food packets welcome you instead – it’s a sign of growing tourism in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. ‘I have been working here for five years. I [...]

Guardian: Unknown amount of trapped persistent organic pollutants poses threat to marine life and humans as temperatures rise. The warming of the Arctic is releasing a new wave of banned toxic chemicals that had been trapped in the ice and cold water, scientists have discovered. The researchers warn that the amount of the poisons stockpiled [...]

IPS: Years of poor policies and neglect are taking a toll on Kashmir’s unmatched ecological assets, that also happen to be international tourist attractions. Typical of damaging policy inconsistencies is the case of the Wullar lake – once regarded as Asia’s largest freshwater body – that has shrunk in size from its original 204 sq [...]

Blast: What amazes many environmental advocates to this day is how the widespread adoption of synthetic chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers for use in agriculture was dubbed the “Green Revolution,” when in fact this post-World War II paradigm shift in the way we produce food has wreaked untold havoc on the environment, food quality and [...]

Scientific and technical presentations for the World Solid Waste Congress 2012 Academics, operators, public officials and operators in the waste industry are invited to submit a one page abstract in English before October 30th 2011, to participate in the World Solid Waste Congress. The proceedings as well as the template for submission are available on [...]

AsiaNews.It: The river worshipped by Hindus and vital to India is now an open sewer, full of faecal bacteria, unfit for bathing or farming. Now the World Bank will fund a restoration project, but experts express doubts about its success. India is set to receive a US$ 1 billion loan from the World Bank to [...]

M & C News: A prominent Tibetan writer on Tuesday appealed for better environmental and cultural protection of Asia’s holiest peak, Mount Kailash, from rapidly developing commercial tourism. ‘I think the current tourism model has destroyed Tibet, destroyed the environment,’ Tsering Woeser told the German Press Agency dpa by telephone. ‘There are two problems: mining [...]

The Manimahesh yatra is a pilgrimage which is held every year in Himachal Pradesh. It is attended by approximately 8 lakh people from across the country. The Yatra is held immediately after Janmashthami, in which Hindus celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna. The hike starts from a place called Hadsar which is 12 kms from [...]

MyRepublica: With monsoon peaking, Himalayan rivers are swelling. Most of the glacier-fed rivers are raging, unfortunately threatening human settlements and huge swathes of land right from the highlands to the mid-hills, and the Siwaliks or Churiyas to the Gangetic plains or the Tarai. Floods and landslides have already caused significant damage to human settlements and [...]

The Mountain Cleaners are a group of volunteers who formed in 2009 in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. We are dedicated environmentalists who are committed to cleaning up India, little by little through a combination of direct action, liaison and awareness raising. We believe our model is simple and complete. We are not just [...]

As part of Climate Himalaya Initiative’s Policy Advocacy efforts on various Climate Change issues,  we  are highlighting the sanitation and pollution embedded scenario across Himalayan region. It includes the garbage coming from a house to one dumped by municipality/ urban local body, and from our various religious practices to tourist influx adding the muck. We [...]

WasteManagementWorld: The United Nations Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization reported in mid-June that widespread implementation of just 16 measures to reduce emissions of black carbon and ozone (principally the precursors methane and carbon dioxide) can give the world a fighting chance of limiting global temperature rise to two degrees or less. These proven [...]

TheTibetPost: This is part two in a series of three articles called Cleaning Up Dharamshala – When Garbage Builds Bridges. In the spirit of World Environment Day on June 5, The Tibet Post International explores the pioneering waste management projects taking place in His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s town of residence, McLeod Ganj. For a [...]

This document discusses environmental issues facing Nepal due to both climate change and non-implementation of sustainability policies, particularly around e-waste management (handling of recyclable and non-recyclable materials from non-functioning electronic equipment) of information and communication technology (ICT) tools.  It addresses waste management policies, ICT use and its growth potential, and the growth potential of e-waste, [...]

DNA: All manufacturers and importers of electronic items, including TVs, computers and mobile phones will have to put in place an elaborate network of waste-collection centres by May next year. The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has notified a new set of “producer responsibility” rules that will come into effect from May 1 next [...]

Thousands of projects are taking place internationally for World Environment Day (WED), but perhaps none as high as the clean-up operation held some 8,848 metres above sea level on Mount Everest. Media-Newswire.com) – Thousands of projects are taking place internationally for World Environment Day ( WED ), but perhaps none as high as the clean-up [...]

Times of India: The sun glares down at the Himalayan temple town of Gangotri, located at an altitude of 10,300 ft in the Garhwal Himalayas. This is the home of the Ganga, India’s holiest river, whose physical source at Gaumukh lies just 19 km away. Looking at the river as it bounds off smoothly polished [...]

Himalayan Times: The government has decided to make Singha Durbar — the administrative headquarters — a plastic-free zone. Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal today directed authorities to implement the plastic-free-zone concept from tomorrow itself. “From tomorrow onwards, plastic bags of less than 20 micron will be prohibited on Singha Durbar premises. The government will extend [...]

A new regimen envisaging reduction of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment and for storage, collection and disposal of e-waste will come into force in 2012. This follows the union ministry of environment and forests ( MOEF) recently notifying the E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2012. The rules cover every producer, consumer and bulk [...]

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 [...]

NAMCHE: About five metric tonnes of waste dumped in the Everest region will be brought to Kathmandu by tomorrow. On the initiation of Everest Summiteers’ Association (ESA), the government, Eco Himal, Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee were involved in the collection of the waste from April 17 to May 27. The government [...]

Magsaysay award-winning water conservationist Rajendra Singh, said on Sunday that the Ministry of Environment and Forests had become “pollutant protection ministry.” He was talking to The Hindu from Pune on the need for a national policy for sustainable use of river water. “The work of the MoEF should be the protection and conservation of forests [...]

Rampant city development in the world’s most ecologically fragile region will have disastrous consequences if left unchecked. Beth Walker introduces a new chinadialogue series on urbanisation in the Himalayas The Himalayas are the youngest, tallest and most unstable mountain range in the world. The geological forces that created its high peaks continue to push the [...]

Over centuries, pilgrims and explorers have been visiting the mountains and their numbers were few and the Himalayan ecosystem, fragile as it is, was able to cope with the effects of human exploration in the areas. But today, with improved network, there is a tremendous increase in the numbers of people visiting the Himalayan states. [...]

Unbridled urban development is destroying Kashmir’s precious wetlands and government apathy is to blame, writes Athar Parvaiz from northern India. Srinagar city, the capital of Kashmir nestled in the north Indian Himalayas, has witnessed massive urbanisation over recent years. Now home to 1.4 million people, the area of the city has expanded substantially, making land management a [...]

The Union ministry of environment and forests ( MoEF) has redefined the meaning of a plastic carry bag to exclude material used for packaging goods which are sealed before they are used. The ministry has proposed amendments to the Plastic Waste (management and handling) Rules 2011, which will come into effect after a fortnight and [...]

April 13thseven South Asian leaders signed the “Colombo Declaration” by which they agreed to improve the access to sanitation in their countries. One of the main commitments stated in the declaration calls for adherence to the values of participation and accountability. Whereas the declaration is only a first step towards improved access to sanitation, the [...]

Dawa Steven Sherpa and his Eco Everest Expedition team are continuing this initiative to create awareness among the local people and among the climbers to help keep Mt.Everest and the Himalayan Mountains clean. Eco Everest Expeditions have been taking a message to “stop climate change” as it destroys the Himalayan environment and threatening the lives and livelyhoods of the [...]

LAHORE – The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will support the private sector waste management company, Waste Busters, which has recently concluded the financial of a 10 million euros project to divert over 300,000 metric tonnes municipal solid waste from landfills and convert it into energy. It was disclosed in a seminar [...]

The country’s rag pickers have expressed “absolute happiness” in having found mention in a rule notified by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) earlier this week, the first time they have been “recognised” in Indian law. There are an estimated 15 lakh men and women who eke out a living by rummaging through garbage [...]

Shimla, Nov 10 – They have cleared trash from the hills overlooking Dharamsala and the Manimahesh lake and now a group of British nationals known as the Mountain Cleaners has lined up a slew of eco-initiatives to paint the Himalayas green. The group, headed by Jodie Underhill, locally known as ‘garbage girl, will start environment [...]