Publication: Understanding Fossil-fuel Subsidies in India: Questions and answers (29 Feb 2014)

IISD Publications Centre Understanding Fossil-fuel Subsidies in India: Questions and answers » , Virginia Benninghoff, Shruti Sharma, Damon Vis-Dunbar, IISD, 2014.Paper, 24 pages, copyright: IISD Fossil-fuel subsidies are significant drain on public finances. They are also bad for the environment, while benefitting higher income consumers more than poorer ones. This comic book provides an accessible and fun introduction to fossil-fuel...

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World News: Wildlife board to clear key projects this week (18 Feb 2014)

Wildlife board to clear key projects this week Vijay Pinjarkar,TNN | Feb 18, 2014, 02.18 AM IST NAGPUR: The 33-member state wildlife board, headed by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, will meet in Mumbai on Thursday to clear a hosts of irrigation, mining and road widening projects under eco-sensitive zones (ESZs) and buffer zones of various wildlife sanctuaries and national parks.Interestingly, the first meeting of the reconstituted board comes ahead of Lok Sabha elections in April-May. The model code...

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World News: DRDO set to harness ocean power (18 Feb 2014)

DRDO set to harness ocean power Shimona Kanwar,TNN | Feb 15, 2014, 04.10 AM IST CHANDIGARH: Given the pressure on land and limited sources which can be tapped for generation of electricity, the ministry of earth sciences is now focusing its attention on oceans to meet growing power demand. It has started working on developing wind farms in ocean, which have a potential of power generation for 300 days in a year. Coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are being studied for the purpose.Shailesh Nayak, secretary, Union...

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Publication: Taking Advantage of ASEAN’s Free Trade Agreements: A guide for small and medium-sized enterprises (28 Feb 2014)

IISD Publications Centre Taking Advantage of ASEAN’s Free Trade Agreements: A guide for small and medium-sized enterprises » Paige McClanahan, Alexander Chandra, Ruben Hattari, Damon Vis-Dunbar, IISD, 2014.Paper, 82 pages, copyright: IISD In the past decade, the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have taken significant steps to reduce the barriers to trade among the 10 nations among their membership....

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Publication: Converging Opportunities: Environmental compliance and citizen science (28 Feb 2014)

IISD Publications Centre Converging Opportunities: Environmental compliance and citizen science » Scott Vaughan, IISD, 2014.Paper, 10 pages, copyright: IISD In this policy brief, IISD President Scott Vaughan argues that there is an implementation gap in Canada between numerous environmental regulations and the corporate stakeholders whose behaviour they are meant to oversee. He suggests that improved reporting systems (including citizen...

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China News: 17 more cement plants biting the dust (18 Feb 2014)

17 more cement plants biting the dust China Daily, February 18, 2014 Work began in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, on Monday on the demolition of another 17 cement factories, two months after the first batch of demolitions to improve air quality. A cement plant in Pingshan county, Hebei province, is demolished on Monday. The province has vowed to tear down more plants to improve air quality. [Photo/China Daily] "After the second batch of...

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World News: Foundation to promote clean and green living (18 Feb 2014)

Foundation to promote clean and green living PTI | Feb 18, 2014, 04.02 PM IST MUMBAI: A green foundation has been set up for promoting clean and green living through social, cultural and public programmes. The Green Circle Foundation set up by Royal Western India Turf Club long with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) would also work towards spreading awareness about importance ofsolar energy and its benefits to society. "Under the Foundation, various activities are being planned in phases to improve Club's infrastructure...

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World News: Dolphins 'suffering miscarriage, lung disease, losing teeth after BP oil spill', researchers claim (18 Feb 2014)

Dolphins 'suffering miscarriage, lung disease, losing teeth after BP oil spill', researchers claim Kashmira Gander,The Independent | Feb 18, 2014, 12.48 PM IST Scientists admitted that their study cannot prove that the dolphin's health problems were caused by the Deepwater spill because there were no studies of dolphin health prior to it. LONDON: Bottlenose dolphins with deformities including missing teeth and lung...

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World News: UP gets first automatic air monitoring system (18 Feb 2014)

UP gets first automatic air monitoring system Priyangi Agarwal,TNN | Feb 12, 2014, 03.47 AM IST BAREILLY: Central Pollution Control Board will in April install an automatic air monitoring system in Bareilly that will measure pollution levels in Badaun, Pilibhit, Moradabad, Shahjahanpur, Haldwani, Ranikhet, Nainital and Pithoragarh. This is the first time that such a facility is being installed in Uttar Pradesh. Apart from Bareilly, Chennai, Bihar, Varanasi, Jammu and Kashmir will also be serviced...

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China News: China's water pollution will be more difficult to fix (18 Feb 2014)

China's water pollution will be more difficult to fix China Dialogue, February 18, 2014 Although China's air pollution keeps making headlines, its water pollution is just as urgent a problem. One-fifth of the country's rivers are toxic, while two-fifths are classified as seriously polluted. In 2012 more than half of China's cities had water that was "poor" or "very poor". Last week China's ministry of environmental protection announced a trillion-yuan...

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China News: Zambia sees rising trend in elephant poaching (18 Feb 2014)

Zambia sees rising trend in elephant poaching Xinhua, February 18, 2014 Zambia has recorded a steady rise in elephant poaching in recent years, signifying that the country was still far from ending the fight against illegal trade in ivory, the Post of Zambia reported on Monday. Last year, the southern African nation lost a total of 135 elephants to poaching as compared to 124 in 2012 and 96 in 2011, according to the country's position paper presented at an illegal Wildlife Trade Conference held in London, Britain last week. Minister of...

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Vietnam News: Locals outraged by polluting shrimp firm (18 Feb 2014)

Locals outraged by polluting shrimp firm  Thứ ba, ngày 18 tháng 02 năm 2014 cập nhật lúc 10:43 Hundreds of households in southern SocTrangProvince's Thanh Phu Commune are demanding strong action against a local shrimp processing company that has continued to pollute their main water source despite being fined several times for the offence. The Tan Nhat Phuong Aquaculture Company, commune residents say, has not stopped discharging untreated...

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Publlication: The Green Goods Agreement: Neither green nor good? (25 Feb 2014)

IISD Publications Centre The Green Goods Agreement: Neither green nor good? » Aaron Cosbey, IISD, 2014.Commentary, copyright: IISD In January 2014, 14 World Trade Organization members met on the sideline of a World Economic Forum meeting in Davos to launch talks aimed at lowering barriers to trade in environmental goods. This commentary critically assesses the chances that the agreement will achieve significant environmental impacts and...

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World News : UNEP: Statement by Ibrahim Thiaw, UN Assistant-Secretary-General and UNEP Deputy Executive Director at the London Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade 2014 Thu (14 Feb 2014)

Statement by Ibrahim Thiaw, UN Assistant-Secretary-General and UNEP Deputy Executive Director at the London Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade 2014 Thu, Feb 13, 2014 London, 13 February 2014 Colleagues,Your Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, Over 30 years ago, the mighty African elephant went extinct in my homeland Mauritania, where it once roamed. Elephants are intelligent and compassionate creatures, whose capacity...

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China News: US-Pacific trade deal disappoints environmentalists (16 Feb 2014)

US-Pacific trade deal disappoints environmentalists Trade deal between the US and Pacific countries including Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam would fail to protect against illegal logging, trade in endangered wildlife and overfishing The trade deal should enforce stronger rules on the trade in illegal animals parts, such as the Pacific Walrus, say campaigners (Image by USFWS) Since 2010 a potentially massive free trade agreement known...

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