'We have to make population growth compatible with development'

DEVELOPING countries have accepted the inarguable importance of the link between population and economic and social development and natural …

Who wants what, and how?

The subsidiary bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN FCCC) met recently in Bonn, Germany. These were the first …

A little "war" between the North and South

The public debate between Dutch environment minister Hans Alders and Sunita Narain of the Centre for Science and Environment, covering a whole …

Debate renewed on blame for global warming

THE 1990-91 edition of World Resources, brought out by the Washington-based World Resources Institute (WRI), concluded developing countries as a …

Sustainable development is an oxymoron

WOLFGANG Sachs, born in 1946 in Munich, studied theology, sociology and history and taught at the University of Berlin for several years. At the …

A reluctant candidate for Chile's presidency

Meet Manfred Max-Neef. Pianist, economist, eco-humanist and politician from Chile, all rolled into one. Internationally acclaimed for his concept …

'Bioenergy is being taken quite seriously'

Gerald Leach is a senior research fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) in London. He has written extensively on rural energy …

India will soon play a major role

SIRPA Pietikainen, Finland's environment minister, says the world has quite a few things to learn from India, especially when it comes to …

Atmospheric chemistry shifts blame around

Research in atmospheric sciences is booming because of the impending threat to4he world's climate. Every month there is a new study showing new …

Blending green concerns into market economy

GERMAN environment minister Klaus Topfer has come under fire for his tough green laws such as the one against packaging. Environmental ministries,…

Recession makes north renege on aid

Against a background of worldwide recession, the Rio conference came and went with many promises of aid by the Northern countries. But by the end …

'Censuses mean little'

A POPULATION expert sharply critical of India's achievements in curbing population growth. A demographer with scant respect for the census. A …

"The DANGER to FORESTS is not over"

The subsidiary bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN FCCC) met from June 2-12 1998 in Bonn, Germany. A good …

'Poor nations need Codex education'

Sanjay Dave, director of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), was recently elected chairperson of …

Vaccine Eloquent

Universal vaccination became part of government policy in 1978. A quarter of a century since, progress has been fitful. In some parts of the …

Peta's Pet

UK-based animal welfare group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals has been campaigning against Indian leather, alleging ill-treatment of …

Cancun clinches deal—for polluters

Cancun has restored the sanctity of multilateral negotiations under the UN climate convention. People had lost faith in it by the end of the …

Solving poverty

Gurdev S Khush is the principal plant breeder in the Plant breeding, genetics and biochemistry division of the International Rice Research …

Everybody's a Loser

The World Trade Organization's recent ministerial meet in Seattle, USA, will be remembered more for the protestors who turned the venue into a …

Newest Biggest Deal

In Kyoto, in 1997, nations of the world agreed the Clean Development Mechanism (cdm) was a competent way to combat climate change. The process …

Frozen at gateway

The Doha outcome is all talk no action. In 2007, the Bali Action Plan had called for an urgent reduction in carbon emissions by developed …

Manipulating Research

Private funding has given a new meaning to scientific research today. With rising corporate research budgets, academic institutions are leaning …

Clash of the cyberworlds

In an increasingly digital world, the issue of Internet freedom and governance has become hugely contested. Censorship and denial of access occur …

Time-out

The 17th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change met in Durban in December 2011. Negotiations were heated and …

Sunshine sector loses sheen

About 40 kilometres from Delhi, in the bustling real estate market of Noida-Greater Noida, lies the biggest irony that the renewable energy …