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Cover Story

For a fortnight, 1,456 delegates from 167 countries sat in conference halls, attended plenary sessions and roundtables, and sized each other up over a cup of coffee. In the end, CoP-8 didn't witness any scintillating intellectual and moral leadership from a host that often likes to portray itself as a leader among developing nations. It could well be said that India passed over a historical moment
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Editor's page

After officialdom

I would love to write a handbook on the Indian bureaucracy. But for now let me focus on a favourite, the yes-minister technique. Do nothing, and then when pushed, unleash chaos. Nothing succeeds as much as failure. Every solution has a problem.

News

Rapped for inaction

SC takes governments to task over tardiness in executing food-based employment schemes following starvation deaths in Rajasthan

Fish on the front burner

Marine species likely to top CITES meet agenda

Research row

Controversy erupts as samples for study on genetic mutations are sent outside India without approval

Gas find fuels debate

Energy analysts divided on the impact of the discovery off the Andhra coast

Closure ordered

SC clamps down on mining in Kudremukh National Park

Not testing the waters

Case filed against British geological body for not providing information on arsenic contamination in Bangladesh's wells

Stubble trouble

Post-harvest clumps in rice fields burn and increasepollution in Punjab

Human testing debate resurfaces

Pharmaceutical company seeks to use human data to promote pesticides

At full blast

Sharp rise in air and noise pollution levels again during Diwali

Put on hold

GM mustard launch deferred

In Brief

Interview

'Give communities a say in tourism'

RAJIV BHARTARI, a LEAD (Leadership for Environment and Development)fellow, is building a framework for ecotourism in Uttaranchal. He tells NITIN SETHI how ecotourism could recon...

Science & Technology

Bleached to death

As ocean waters get warmer, coral reefs look even paler this year

Floral trouble

In sharp contrast to earlier estimates, a new study claims that nearly half the world's flora species face extinction

Mark of distinction

Genetic marker for authenticating Darjeeling tea

No breather in sight

Research reinforces theory that air pollution and smoking perpetrate asthma

Best among the worst

WHO identifies top 10 health risk factors

Touching from a distance

Scientists recreate sense of touch on the internet

I don't want to leapfrog

Commonly used herbicide is changing gender of US frogs

Ray of hope

Czech Republic enacts law to combat light pollution menace

Black magic

Scientists develop anti-diabetic drug from jamun

Pestering the glands

Study says women exposed to pesticides have impaired thyroid gland function

Food for thought

Iron cooking vessels help combat iron deficiency

Undercurrents

Norway installs world's first underwater electricity grid to be powered by tidal currents

Little warrior

Scientists discover microbe that degrades a commonly found pollutant

Sinking planks

Phytoplankton production could damage oceanic ecosystems

Factsheet

Health class

Enemies of health and allies of poverty join hand to create global havoc, leaving different marks on different classes

Special Report

Consigned to flames

Central and state authorities fiddle while underground coalfields burn in Jharia in the state of Jharkhand

The Fortnight

Of props and power

On shaky ground

EU casts its net wider

Charting a new course

No smooth passage

On the boil

'Stop soft-pedalling'

Restraints in place

Problem in the pipeline

Peak pressure

Counting the cost

On collision course

In full flow

Lanka Leapfrogs

Unneighbourly act

Sorry sight

Dwindling numbers

Directive on water harvesting

Gasping gains

Leader

A dash of mustard

it's another case of dj vu. After the drama we witnessed over the clearance of Bt cotton for commercial cultivation, it is now genetically modified (gm) mustard that's on the line. The inter-ministerial Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (geac) met and deferred a decision on this oilseed, because of "multiple interpretation" of data pertaining to its bio-safety and agronomic aspects of mustard hybrids.

The hunger syndrome

the first reports of death due to hunger in Baran district of Rajasthan followed an all too familiar path. Outcry in the media, denial by local administration, visits by the bigwigs and then a blame game. So what did the people get? A temporary relief in the form of some consignments of grain and fodder to tide over the current crisis. But, sadly, no sign of proofing against recurrence of such incidents.

Crosscurrent

Quest in vain?

How can CDM resolve the conflict between developed and developing country interests?

River Inc.

Is industry hijacking the law to undermine communities' rights to water?

Battle fatigue

The environmental implications of the border-war in Siachen

Review

An encounter

Media

Toxic fallout

INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH . November . 2002

Playing knowledge games

INFORMATION FEUDALISM . Peter Drahos with John Braithwaite . Earthscan Publications Limited . London . 2002 . Rs 920

In the last two decades, the intellectual property standards have changed drastically. Today, these rules are set by the global strategies of a small number of companies and business organisations. The standards affect basic goods such as seeds, services and information flows in a global trading economy.

Unconventional course

SASAKAWA AWARD . UNEP . October . 2002

Whose verdict anyway!

MEASURE 27 ON GM FOOD LABELLING . Oregon . November 2002

The big food producers and biotechnology researchers are celebrating. Their strategy has paid off.

The voters of US's Oregon state rejected a ballot initiative that would have required labels on food containing genetically modified (GM) material.

Managing biodiversity

TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE FOR MANAGING BIOSPHERE RESERVES IN SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . Edited by PS Ramakrishnan, RK Rai, RPS Katwal and S Mehndiratta . Oxford & IBH Publishing Co Pvt Ltd . 2002

Facilitating farmers

http://www.echoupal.com

Discerning choice

www.greenpages.org
Consumers can now identify and support socially and environmentally benign businesses, courtesy the alliance between online environmental network Care2 and nonprofit consumer organisation Co-op America. The two have teamed up to present a web resource which will help consumers choose the company with a green commitment .

Grassroots

Textile therapy

A handloom trader experiments with traditional medicinal herbs for dyeing garments

Beyond the odds

Kashmiri youth reach out to people in the midst of war and loss with their 'environmental awareness' campaign

Letters

Pick of the post bag

Good tidings
Please refer to the article 'Forestmaker' published in Down To Earth (DTE, Vol 8, No 24; May 15, 2000) in the 'Grassroots' section. I am happy to convey to you that Kunwar Damodar Singh, the person you wrote about in that article, has received the Priyardarshini Vrikshamitra Award this year. Your institution played a pivotal role in giving him his due.

CSE WEBNET

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