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Sun, 29 Jun 2014 04:00 AM

By Amantha PereraCOLOMBO, Jun 29 2014 (IPS) - What's the connection between weather forecasts and the mosquito-borne dengue virus? It's not just a question for science nerds; in Sri Lanka, health officials believe answering this question could save lives. For over half a decade now, doctors and residents of this island nation, especially those living in the cramped Western Province, have been battling […]

Sat, 23 Aug 2014 16:01 PM

By Stella PaulSANGAREDDY, India, Aug 23 2014 (IPS) - Tugging at the root of a thorny shrub known as ‘juliflora', which now dots the village of Chirmiyala in the Medak District of southern India's Telangana state, a 28-year-old farmer named Ailamma Arutta tells IPS, "This is a curse that destroyed my land." The deciduous shrub, whose scientific name is prosopis juliflora and belongs to […]

Tue, 3 Jun 2014 16:48 PM

By Bradnee ChambersBONN, Jun 3 2014 (IPS) - Dr. Bradnee Chambers, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Environment Programme's Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, describes ahead of World Environment Day (Jun. 5), how small island states are vulnerable to sea level rises and other effects of climate change.

Thu, 6 Mar 2014 22:16 PM

By Stella PaulANANATAGIRI, India, Mar 6 2014 (IPS) - Chintapakka Jambulamma, 34, looks admiringly at a solar dryer. It's the prized possession of the Advitalli Tribal Women's Co-operative Society- a collective of women entrepreneurs that she leads. She opens up a drawer in the dryer, scoops out a handful of the medicinal plant Kalmegh and exclaims, "Look, it's drying so fast." Around her, women […]

Mon, 2 Jun 2014 04:01 AM

By Suvendrini KakuchiTOKYO, Jun 2 2014 (IPS) - Undaunted by Japan's national consensus to boost the economy, which has been mired in lackluster growth for decades, environmentalists are taking baby steps towards incorporating climate change into national legislation. Proponents of the plan to make Japan more environmentally friendly are up against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's popular ‘Abenomics' regime that promises to accelerate the […]

Tue, 26 Aug 2014 04:00 AM

By Jessica FaietaUNITED NATIONS, Aug 26 2014 (IPS) - Having lived and worked for more than a decade in four Caribbean countries, I have witnessed firsthand how Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are extremely vulnerable to challenges ranging from debt and unemployment to climate change and sea level rise. Such aspects make their paths towards sustainable development probably more complex than non-SIDS countries. That […]

Sat, 30 Aug 2014 16:00 PM

By Malini ShankarNAGAPATTINAM, India, Aug 30 2014 (IPS) - This is the first of a two-part series on incorporating disaster risk reduction into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Wed, 2 Jul 2014 04:00 AM

By Sandra SiagianJAKARTA, Jul 2 2014 (IPS) - As the world's third-largest democracy heads to the polls next week to elect a new president, environmental activists remain sceptical of the candidates' commitment to tackle climate change. Over four televised debates, Indonesia's presidential contenders – Joko ‘Jokowi' Widodo, Jakarta's current governor, and Prabowo Subianto, a former general – have so far discussed their plans […]

Mon, 2 Jun 2014 04:01 AM

By Alejandro EncinasBULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Jun 1 2014 (IPS) Jun 1 2014 (IPS) - In this column, Alejandro Encinas, Senator in the Mexican Congress and International Vice President for the Americas of the Global Legislators Organisation (GLOBE), looks at the progress on climate change now being made worldwide.

Tue, 26 Aug 2014 04:00 AM

By Naresh NewarDABI, Nepal, Aug 26 2014 (IPS) - Living in a makeshift tarpaulin shelter, which barely protects her family from the torrential rainfall or scorching heat of this remote village in southern Nepal, 36-year-old Kamala Pari is under immense stress, worrying about her financial security and children's safety. The family's only house and tiny plot of farmland were completely destroyed by the massive […]