With climate science evolving but remaining uncertain, how can journalists accurately communicate about climate change in the media? And, how can they break through the national perspective of their media outlet to give the regional story of climate change? The 24 journalists selected from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as the CDKN/Panos

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China Daily: China plans to increase its presence in Antarctica with two more research stations, an official in charge of the country’s scientific programs in the polar regions said on Tuesday. The two new facilities are expected to join the existing three Chinese stations on Antarctica — Changcheng (Great Wall), Zhongshan, and Kunlun — by

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Climatefundsupdates: The Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC is the largest event of the year for those working on climate change. This year attention turns to Qatar, the host of the 18th of these major conferences. Once again, the hot topic will be how to finance developing-country efforts to respond to climate change. 2013

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CMS: The Centre for Mountain Studies (CMS) is located at Perth College, University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland. Since its establishment in 2000, staff and students at the CMS have been active in research and knowledge exchange activities at all scales, from the local, in Scotland, to the global. Projects in Scotland have focused

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‘Adaptation Ideas’ is a new series of Climate Himalaya. Here we will be showcasing a number of simple, practical and innovative ideas those could be adopted by individuals, communities and organizations for various environment friendly adaptive practices at home, offices and in public places. The purpose of this ongoing series is to disseminate and communicate

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‘Adaptation Ideas’ is a new series of Climate Himalaya. Here we will be showcasing a number of simple, practical and innovative ideas those could be adopted by individuals, communities and organizations for various environment friendly adaptive practices at home, offices and in public places. The purpose of this ongoing series is to disseminate and communicate

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CFS: Policy makers and project planners in developing countries at national and city levels need access to information on potential sources of climate finance, inspiring best practice examples, research results and tools for better investment decision making. The global climate finance gap demands increasing levels of financial flows along with coordination at a level previously

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The Natural Environment Research Council of the UK (NERC) and the Earth System Science Organization, Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Republic of India (ESSO-MoES) have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate cooperation between the UK and Indian earth system science and environmental research communities. The UK and India have shared interests and

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This bulletin provides an overview of recent discussions about the impact of corruption on environmental governance, with a focus on emissions trading. It reviews new definitions and the latest corruption assessment methodologies in order to illuminate the broader challenges faced by GHG trading mechanisms and climate finance. Why is this issue important? The trading of

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GIZ: Adaptation to climate change is much about ‘doing things differently because of climate change’ (Bo Lim), or making the right decision in light of climate change. Adaptation has the ultimate goal of avoiding harm and costs that can arise from doing business as usual without taking climate change into consideration. It often tries to

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Thinkdifferent: We have uploaded a number of photos (ideas) from Think Different facebook page.    They could be used in our offices towards  ‘carbon neutral’ and ‘eco-friendly’ working to reduce our carbon foot prints. We strongly feel that these ideas will help in reducing the ongoing impact of climate change due to various human induced

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CCAFS: International climate change debates are often based upon simplistic assumptions of how men and women perceive and address risks and uncertainty. For instance, women are commonly portrayed as a homogenous group who are always more vulnerable than men to climate change simply because they are women. Yet the relationship between gender, poverty and vulnerability

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Scidev.net: An online atlas of global renewable energy potential has been launched to try to identify the most promising places for investment and to help guide governments’ energy policies and planning. The open access ‘Global Atlas for Solar and Wind’ was launched last month (13 January) at the annual general assembly of the International Renewable

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SciDev.net: Disaster response and relief efforts are becoming more dynamic and decentralised with the development of web-based geospatial technologies, says a study. Researchers writing in Disasters evaluated the experiences of Harvard University’s Center for Geographic Analysis (CGA) during the Sichuan and Haiti earthquake responses in 2008 and 2010, respectively. They found that the conventional ‘top-down’

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Go Green’ web portal was launched in July 2008 to remind people to be mindful of and sensitive to the natural environment in our daily life The main objective of the site is to increase the awareness of environmental issues that affect the future of the planet. Go-Green.ae features ‘Green Stories’ that demonstrate the steps

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IFRC: In November 2012, the Macedonian Red Cross helped facilitate a group of community members and volunteers in Kriva Palanka, Macedonia, to produce a participatory video to highlight the Macedonian Red Cross undergoing work with communities on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and preparedness.  The community producers conducted interviews in different mountain villages featuring

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ABC: What effect will climate change have on agriculture and food production? This is the second of a five-part series in which environment reporter Sarah Clarke sets out to provide answers. Australia’s farmers will need to adapt to cope with a potentially hotter and drier continent as the effects of climate change take hold, scientists

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ADB: Empowering the poor through access to energy — ADB promotes new approaches for scaling up access to energy for the poor. Access to modern, cleaner energy is essential to human development. Yet the majority of the world’s energy poor are living in Asia and the Pacific: more than 700 million people still have no

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SciDev.Net: Potato batteries, wind-powered mine detectors, smart waterpumps… SciDev.Net revisits some of the best inventions of 2012. Fascinating innovations come from around the world, and aim to tackle a range of development issues, from cutting the risk of disasters and disease, to helping people with disabilities access information and bringing energy to remote areas. Phase-changing

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SciDev.net: This policy brief, published by the Overseas Development Institute, explores how different types of knowledge feed into policymaking processes — based on case-studies in three South-East Asian countries — and suggests that classifying knowledge can be a useful way of promoting evidence-based decisions. The complexity of policy processes means there is no simple way

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FAO’s vision for the future is a world free of hunger and malnutrition where food and agriculture improve the living standards of all people. To make this vision a reality, food production must increase to feed a rising global population – a population expected to grow from 6.7 billion to more than 9 billion in

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IEA: The role of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and the Green Climate Fund to realise the potential of energy efficiency in developing countries. Improving energy efficiency (EE) can reduce energy demand and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and deliver a range of other benefits such as improved air quality, enhanced economic competitiveness and, at the national

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ACCC: The Adapting to Climate Change in China project is designed to develop and share internationally China’s experience of integrating climate change adaptation into the development process, in order to reduce China and other countries’ vulnerability to climate change. The project aims to improve global knowledge on the assessment of climate impacts and risks, develop

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Guardian: Techniques aimed at averting global warming could lead to an unpredictable international crisis, a report has warned. The world’s climate could be hijacked by a rogue country or wealthy individual firing small particles into the stratosphere, claims a warning that comes not from a new Hollywood movie trailer but a sober report from the

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SciDev.net: Africa is often blamed for having scarce and unreliable weather records that hold back predictions of how climate change will affect the continent. This has led to calls over the years for better climate-change science and record-keeping, with the most recent coming from African science academies last November. In a statement entitled ‘Climate change

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Smart climate finance In order to achieve a 50 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, total financing to 2050 of around EUR 30 trillion will be required. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has concluded that a significant majority of this investment will need to come from the private sector. Public

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Think Progress: Contrary To Contrarian Claims, IPCC Temperature Projections Have Been Exceptionally Accurate. There is a new myth circulating in the climate contrarian blogosphere and mainstream media that a figure presented in the “leaked” draft Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report shows that the planet has warmed less than previous IPCC report

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Impact of snow and glacier melt on the water security of users of the Ganges, India Ewout Zwolsman, an MSc student from Wageningen University, assessed for the HighNoon project the contribution of snow- and ice melt to the water demand in the Ganges basin as part of his final Masters thesis. The first challenge was

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The Telegraph: The creator of the four billion pixel interactive image of Everest has warned that more must be done to tackle climate change in order to save world’s highest mountain. Since the image, made up of 477 individual photographs taken during the climbing season in spring 2012, went viral, David Breashears says he has

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ADB’s corporate mandate is to help achieve an Asia and Pacific region that is free from poverty. During more than 40 years of operation, ADB has successfully addressed this challenge by providing projects and programs to its DMCs focusing on economic growth as the foundation of poverty reduction efforts. As ADB’s development work in the

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CIC: New business hub for Kenyan climate technology entrepreneurs was launched in Nairobi on 26th September to boost locally sourced green technologies in the East Africa region. The Kenya Climate Innovation Centre (CIC), a cutting-edge facility, will offer financing and other services to a growing network of climate innovators and entrepreneurs. The first of its

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TIES: The UN Climate Change Conference (COP18) in Qatar starts today, and in the next two weeks discussions will be held to assess progress in dealing with climate change. The UN climate talks shed light to the urgent needs for bold climate action, and this is a perfect time for all of us in the

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“Chasing Ice” is the new documentary that has been swaying the minds of disbelievers of climate change. The haunting photos and video of melting glaciers provides has been said to provide visual evidence of the effects global temperature has on glaciers in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. Photographers James Balog and Jeff Orlowski joined forces to

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IPS News: To understand some of what is happening inside the UN climate talks here in Doha, watch this  83-second animation on the history of international climate change negotiations.   Source>>  

MP: The Mountain Partnership is a United Nations voluntary alliance of partners dedicated to improving the lives of mountain people and protecting mountain environments around the world.  The Task Force meeting took place in the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs during 29-31 October 2012 of Mountain Partnership that is coordinated UN’s FAO based in Rome,

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Economic Times: UN Climate Change Negotiations 2012: India acquires key role in tech transfer for combating climate change. India has acquired a key role in technology transfer for combating climate change after the country took a lead role in an agreement for a mechanism on transferring of expertise to developing countries. Technology Information, Forecasting and

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UNEARTH News: Award-winning MediaGlobal News – an independent news organization based at United Nations Headquarters in New York City – is proud to announce the online launch of UNEARTH News, a new and distinct voice reporting on the human dimensions of climate change, and the prime source of comprehensive coverage on the impact of global

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Climate Himalaya, an initiative of Prakriti group wins prestigious Manthan eNGO Challenge Award for its outreach knowledge networking work on climate adaptation and mountain development issues in Himalayan region. Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid was also present during the award ceremony at New Delhi, India. The eNGO Challenge aspires to create an ecosystem of

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ICIMOD: Mountain Day is organized each year during the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to: Bring attention to the vulnerability of mountain ecosystems and mountain people to climate change impacts and discuss the options for adaptation and resilience building; Promote better understanding of the role

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CoP18: Technology used to search for water on Mars is being used to search for reserves. Space technology that was used to search for water on Mars is now being used closer to home. The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and NASA have used equipment designed to search for signs of life on Mars to

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CDKN: The international climate talks are proceeding slowly, perhaps too slowly to limit warming to 2°C. The talks are based upon a holistic approach to a deal (nothing is achieved until everything is achieved) and consensus-based agreements. Reaching consensus entails understanding the multiple dimensions inherent in a negotiation process: the dynamics of politics, negotiations and

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Scidev.net: Lucy Pearson looks at early warning systems for disasters, their uses and limits, and what accounts for the gap between warning and action. Through history disasters have destroyed lives and livelihoods, killing people and damaging homes and businesses. Disasters in the past 35 years have taken an estimated 2.5 million lives and cost more

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Cambridge Conservation Initiative: Planned adaptation to climate change may be achieved in many different ways. One approach is ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation. Such adaptation may include sustainable management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems, as part of an overall adaptation strategy that takes into account the multiple social, economic and cultural co-benefits for local communities. Building

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“Once that drop was ice among the great peaks whence the river came; that very same drop may be one of the snow flakes which perhaps a hundred years ago alighted on the highest point of the valley, on the divide of the Zarafshan Pass, fifteen thousand feet above the plain. This is the end,

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Nature: UN meteorological body approves framework for managing climate predictions. An international framework for providing information about how Earth’s climate will affect everything from health to disaster planning is set to bring order to an area that has given some scientists cause for concern. The field of ‘climate services’ has boomed in recent years, with

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WMO: Climate change is having a fundamental impact on every aspect of our lives. It affects the sustainability of rural development and urban planning, the security of water supplies, and the strength of disaster defences. It influences the variety and cultivation of crops, the viability of renewable energy projects, the resilience of transport infrastructure, and

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  Climate Expert: Climate variability refers to the variations in the mean state of the climate. Variations are per se a natural feature of a climate system, but recent trends show a massive increase in global mean temperature and a linkage between temperature increase and CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. And as data continue to

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Scidev.net: India is expanding its biodiversity databases and linking them in a network so that policymakers for programmes that address biodiversity, climate changeand socio-economic concerns have ready access to information. An Indian Bioresources Information Network (IBIN) was launched this month (11 October) by M. S. Swaminathan, eminent crop scientist and founder of the M.S. Swaminathan

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NT NEws: AN Alice Springs filmmaker has refused to sell footage of a firestorm to former US vice-president Al Gore – to use in Mr Gore’s climate presentations – because the event was unrelated to climate change. Chris Tangey from Alice Springs Film and Television recorded the phenomenon on Curtin Springs Station, 360km southwest of

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National Geographic: A new digital platform bolsters efforts of nine global cities at the leading-edge of climate adaptation. Situated where the mouth of a river meets a larger body of water, delta cities are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as storm surges and flooding. This urgent issue sparked the first conversations

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Baltic Climate: The Baltic Climate toolkit is an empowering knowledge transfer instrument for actors on the local and regional level who are not necessarily the experts on climate change, but who have an important role to play in the preparation, financing and decision making related to the implementation of climate change measures. We are talking

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Scidevnet: Making access to science a human right is a worthy goal, but how can it be enshrined? And will it really deliver? Jan Piotrowski investigates. [PARIS] Access to science, as well as an equitable share of its benefits, is a universal human right, as inalienable as the right to water, justice or even life.

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Khabar South Asia: Young people in the Himalayan nation offer creative solutions to the challenges facing their generation. The talent of young adults was on full display as they rolled out an array of projects and initiatives to mark the International Youth Day on August 12th. The event highlighted how Nepal is working to keep

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Underthebanyan: 1. Know your audience. When you sit down to write a story there is only one person that matters and it is not you, not your editor and not the person you just interviewed. It is the reader or listener or viewer – someone who are unlikely to ever meet. They are the most

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Mankind has removed more than half of the planet’s original forest cover. All the time this land stays barren and unrestored, the lives of millions of people and the survival of entire communities, cultures and ecosystems, remain under threat. We can restore many of these landscapes. A restored landscape can accommodate a mosaic of different

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Zee News, as a responsible media house, initiated ‘My Earth My Duty’ – a revolutionary pan-India campaign, on June 5, 2010 instigating youth action on imperative issues of human induced climate change. It has been supported by over 50 million youth in almost all the headquarters in 34 cities and 1.2lac villages across India. My

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Scidevnet: A collaborative project in Ethiopia that has created climate data and tools can be applied in much of Africa, says climate scientist Tufa Dinku. Famine in the Horn of Africa is a reminder of how fluctuations in climate can destroy the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable people on the continent, and why the management

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Eureka Alert: Global Adaptation Index (TM) (GaIn) (Readiness – Vulnerability) The GAIN Index serves as an overall measure of a country’s vulnerability to climate-related hazards and its readiness to adapt to the challenges posed by climate change and other global forces. It is calculated as the readiness score of a country minus its vulnerability score,

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Since 2010, with a larger vision to serve as link between practice, science, policy and decision making towards climatic adaptation and sustainable mountain development Climate Himalaya’s actions were focused towards climate consciousness and advocating for appropriate national and regional actions on knowledge sharing, networking and innovations in environment front. Our advocacy actions during major global

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Scidevnet: The multi-billion dollar cassava industry of South–East Asia may already be suffering from multiple pest and disease outbreaks triggered by climate change, cassava researchers have told a conference in Bangkok. Although the crop can thrive in hotter and dryer conditions in the region, an increase in pests and diseases could easily wipe out recent

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