News Coverage
WB to Fund Post-Flood Reconstruction in Brazil
Posted on: 20 January 2011 - 3:00pmThe World Bank said Tuesday it will release 485 million U.S. dollars in the coming weeks for reconstruction in southeastern Brazil, where more than 700 people have been killed by floods and landslides.
DENR focuses on coastal management program
Posted on: 27 January 2011 - 4:28pmMANILA, Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has started its multi-sectoral consultation on the country’s integrated management program for the creation of more efficient measures on the protection of the marine biodiversity.
China urged to boost drought relief
Posted on: 20 January 2011 - 3:00pmLocal authorities are urging China's central government to boost relief efforts amid a severe drought affecting several parts of the country. Over the past year, parts of China have seen precipitation levels fall by as much as 90 per cent, with some of the worst affected provinces including Henan, Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong and Jiangsu.
Heated debate for Durban
Posted on: 20 January 2011 - 3:00pmExecutive secretary Christiana Figueres said nations had to follow up their UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, last year with higher global emission cuts and the rapid launch of new institutions and funds to show the world that a new era of international co-operation on climate change is an established fact.
Study sends agriculture warning to Africa
Posted on: 17 January 2011 - 5:05pmAgricultural research produced in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation concluded last week that Africa should stop relying on just a handful of crops and developing new seeds as the default solutions to end hunger and poverty.
The message, outlined in a report by the Worldwatch Institute, appears out of step with the Gates foundation’s funding of agrotechnology initiatives to achieve agricultural development in Africa.
Forest efforts under threat
Posted on: 11 July 2011 - 11:08amThe government's flagship policy on community land deeds could jeopardise conservation efforts that have seen Thailand's forest area increase for the first time in decades.
Adis Israngkura, a researcher from the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), said deforestation had slowed from 3 million rai a year to 300,000 rai a year.
Mubarak Village: Fishermen forced to live in abject poverty
Posted on: 17 January 2011 - 5:05pmFishermen communities of Mubarak Village have urged the government to provide them alternative sources of income as the fisheries sector is under tremendous pressures and could hardly meet their economic needs. They demanded that a special development plan be made to boost the economic activities in their village.
Alleviating poverty through rural agriculture
Posted on: 17 January 2011 - 5:05pmWorried about the nation’s dependence on oil, many have advocated a paradigm shift to agriculture, another means to further boost the economy and reduce poverty.
They hinged their argument on the fact that rural-urban drift which at the end make majority of the youths roam the cities in search of jobs that are not available could be tamed if agriculture is made attractive and the rural areas equipped with basic infrastructures like electricity and good roads among others.
Wildfires undermine farming, deepen poverty
Posted on: 11 January 2011 - 4:25pmFrequent fire outbreaks in agricultural communities have led to soil degradation, which meant low crop yields, and more crippling poverty for farmers who have had to deal with this scourge every year without a reprieve, a sensitization campaign against wildfires in the Fonis heard as officials of the forestry department, the Brikama Area Council and the West Coast governor’s office met local communities.
Can TZ win illegal fishing war alone?
Posted on: 11 January 2011 - 4:25pmDynamite fishing was successfully controlled, almost to zero level, when the Irish government supported the Tanga Coastal Zone Conservation and Development Programme (TCZCDP).
However, when it ended in 2006, dynamite fishing erupted with vengeance. Suddenly reported dynamite blasts shot up from almost zero to 69 blasts per month in the following year (2007). This is until another donor showed up in the form of the World Bank-financed Tanzania Marine and Coastal Environment Management Project (MACEMP).
Philippines gets $4.97-M World Bank grant to help farmers weather climate change impact
Posted on: 11 January 2011 - 4:25pmThe Philippines got a $4.97-million World Bank grant to help farmers cope with the effects of climate change, the multilateral lender said in a statement released on Friday. The government and the World bank signed the agreement last Dec. 21, the statement said.
The grant, to come from the Global Environment facility of the World Bank-managed Special Climate Change Fund, will help finance the $55.42-million Philippines Climate Change Adaptation Project (PhilCCAP).
Driving ambitions for electric vehicles in Philippines
Posted on: 20 May 2011 - 11:15amQuietly cutting through the chronic traffic of Manila, the sprawling capital city of Philippines, is a fleet of brightly colored electric vehicles.
Can these e-vehicles -- eco-friendly versions of the iconic Philippine form of public transport -- lead the country towards a clean, green future?
Seeing REDD on climate change
Posted on: 13 December 2010 - 5:03pmAs the Cancun summit closes, some environmentalists say the REDD scheme is a boon for financers, not forests.
Cancun climate talks end with agreement on assisting developing nations
Posted on: 13 December 2010 - 5:11pmOne of the agreements reached during the climate change discussions is support for the world’s least developed nations in regards to global warming through the creation of the Green Climate Fund. As the US, EU and Japan desired initially the Green Climate Fund will use the World Bank as a trustee. In essence the Green Climate Fund plans on administering a majority of the $100 billion from more developed, wealthy nations to less developed, struggling nations as promised last year at the Copenhagen climate change conference.
Respecting the indigenous under REDD
Posted on: 13 December 2010 - 5:10pmThe Philippines, home to less than 10 million hectares of forest, is highly respected in the international forum on REDD-plus, or reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, especially because its chief negotiator comes from an indigenous community. The Philippines strongly supports the need to respect the rights of indigenous people in forest management.
Strange outcome of Cancun conference
Posted on: 13 December 2010 - 5:11pmCancun climate conference had a strange outcome, with the adoption of a text created by unfamiliar methods, and which passes the burden of action onto developing countries.
Editorial: Cancún climate summit: Yet another opportunity lost
Posted on: 13 December 2010 - 5:11pmAfter the missed opportunities of the Copenhagen meeting in 2009 nobody expected anything at all from the Cancún encounter, so any agreement represents a significant step.
But this significance vanishes when matched against the scale of things to come.
In search of grassroots solutions
Posted on: 14 December 2010 - 3:18pmWhile frustration over the glacial pace of progress at global conferences gets all the headlines, useful work on the ground continues to be done to help people adapt better to climate change.
In the Mekong Delta, rice scientists have been working on rice varieties that may help farmers better adapt to flooding, and future sea level rises.
Read more
http://www.bangkokpost.com
The Hot New Sector in Greentech: Adaptation
Posted on: 14 December 2010 - 3:17pmWhile most of the work of the greentech sector is focused on mitigation technologies that can reduce carbon emissions, from clean power to energy efficiency, given that this latest agreement will not prevent the rise of global temperatures within the range that scientists say is needed (though it made some progress on other key issues), perhaps it’s time for those in the greentech industry to start betting that adaption will one day be a hot market.
Cancun Talks Yield Climate Compromise
Posted on: 14 December 2010 - 3:18pmElements of last year's Copenhagen Accord moved a step closer to reality as two weeks of talks concluded in Cancun this week with a new consensus on the path forward for international negotiations to combat climate change. Over the objections of Bolivia, the so-called Cancun Agreements text was adopted by more than 190 countries, setting the stage for ongoing negotiations on subjects ranging from greenhouse gas emission cuts from industrialized and developing countries to rules for reducing deforestation.
Read more
http://www.scientificamerican.com
'Social, environ woes linked'
Posted on: 10 December 2010 - 3:27pmUniversiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Kamaruzaman Ampon said social problems are the cause of most environmental problems in the State and elsewhere. He said inequality of access to natural resources drives the poor to desperation. In this instance, he said that natural resources provide them with a safety net.
Race is on at U.N. climate summit to close deal
Posted on: 10 December 2010 - 3:40pmThe world’s environment ministers were working through the night Thursday at the U.N. climate change summit in Mexico as they raced to overcome deep differences by the end of Friday over how to tackle the growing threat of global warming.
Ramesh says India can accept binding CO2 cuts
Posted on: 10 December 2010 - 3:44pmIndia bolstered troubled UN climate talks on Friday by saying it could eventually commit to legally binding emissions reduction targets, a newspaper reported, in a major shift in the government's stance.
India is the world's No 3 greenhouse gas polluter after the United States and China, and rapid economic growth and consumption are driving up production of planet-warming carbon dioxide from coal fired power plants, transport and industry.
Race is on at U.N. climate summit to close deal
Posted on: 10 December 2010 - 3:40pmThe world’s environment ministers were working through the night Thursday at the U.N. climate change summit in Mexico as they raced to overcome deep differences by the end of Friday over how to tackle the growing threat of global warming.
Australia offers $599m to protect poor countries from climate impacts
Posted on: 14 December 2010 - 3:17pmOne of the big sticking points at the climate summit in Cancun is how best to distribute the $30 billion promised under the Copenhagen Accord. The money, known as Fast Start Finance, is designed to help poor countries reduce their own carbon emissions and protect themselves against climate impact for the next two years.
Cancun climate change summit: glaciers increasing despite climate change
Posted on: 10 December 2010 - 2:32pmGlaciers in many parts of the world are increasing, according to a new United Nations report, despite climate change.
Metro Manila is ‘7-11 of disasters’
Posted on: 10 December 2010 - 3:08pmMetro Manila is the “7-11 of disasters.” The National Capital Region topped cities in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) “most at risk” of flooding and earthquake, according to the latest ASEAN risk assessment synthesis report.
Saving Coral Reefs
Posted on: 20 May 2011 - 2:09pmThe Dominican Republic's coral reefs are vital for tourism, but they are under threat.
‘Juan’ leaves 12 dead; P1.5-B crop lost
Posted on: 25 October 2010 - 4:21pmSeminar on Disaster Risk Management and Poverty Reduction for Asian Countries Successfully Closed in Chengdu
Posted on: 4 November 2010 - 11:17amSeptember 28, 2010---The Seminar on Disaster Risk Management and Poverty Reduction for Asian Countries hosted by IPRCC and organized by Sichuan Bureau of Poverty Alleviation and Immigration Affairs and UNDP China was successfully closed in Chengdu on September 28, 2010. IPRCC Chief Technical Advisor Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed presided over the closing ceremony. IPRCC Deputy Director-General He Xiaojun and trainee representatives delivered summary reports.
