Environment

India has introduced a new e-waste rule that makes environmentally sound management and disposal of electronic waste mandatory. The E-waste (Management and Handling) Rule, 2011 places responsibility on the producers for the entire lifecycle of a product, from design to disposal. Apart from Extended Producer Responsibility principle, the rule is a significant step towards international standards of Restriction of Hazardous substances in electronics. The rules were notified by the Ministry of...

Compared to the 2G scam, the amount of this is probably nothing; but this has graver significance. A new report tells us that the subsidy on diesel has been aggressively exploited by the telecom sector, resulting in an annual loss of around Rs 2600 crore to the state exchequer. The Greenpeace report, Dirty Talking – A case for telecom to shift from diesel to renewable builds, on the previous industry and government research which show that at current growth rates, the sector would require 26...

The International Year of Forests 2011 is being officially launched today with the Nagoya ABS Protocol opening for signature by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Today is also World Wetlands Day, and the 40th anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands. This year the theme is “Forests for Water and Wetlands”. The 'Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological...

The ten most at-risk forested hotspots around the world have have lost 90 per cent or more of their original habitat. Each harbours at least 1500 endemic plant species - species found nowhere else in the world. If these forests are lost, says Conservation International, those endemic species are also lost forever. To mark launch of the International Year of Forests on Wednesday, Conservation International has highlighted the ten most at-risk forested hotspots around the world. These forests...

Global warming is already affecting the earth in a variety of ways that demand our attention. Now, research carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem indicates that many tree species might become extinct due to climate change if no action is taken in time. According to the research, trees which disperse their seeds by wind, such as pines and maples, will be unable to spread at a pace that can cope with expected climate changes. The research, which focused on the ecological consequences...

In October, the husband and wife pair of Munir Ahmad and Syeda, farmers of Laskhar Pur village in Pakistan's Duzafargarh district with their six children, should have been planting wheat. Only, they weren't for their four acres of land that normally produces two crops a year of cotton and wheat, had been damaged by the floods. They had tried hard to protect their fields by building mud embankments, but the floods were unprecedented. The flooding destroyed their cotton crop that had been close to...

Old forests are losing ground, there are changes in river flows at critical times of the year, and wildlife habitat is losing out to agricultural landscapes in many cases, a comprehensive report ever on the state of Canada's biodiversity has revealed. Canadian Biodiversity: Ecosystem Status and Trends 2010, the first assessment of the country's biodiversity from an ecosystem perspective that presents 22 key findings, has also voiced concern over declines in certain bird populations, increases in...

Global environmental damage resulting from human activity resulted in an economic cost of $6.6 trillion during 2008, equivalent to 11 percent of global GDP. By 2050, this annual amount is expected to jump to $28 trillion (18 percent of GDP). The grim numbers come from a study released Wednesday by the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and UNEP Finance Initiative. The most environmentally damaging business sectors have been identified as utilities; oil and gas producers; and...

Ten years after the landmark World Commission on Dams (WCD) report, activists say the guidelines charted out by the document remain India's best roadmap towards ensuring that future dams minimise social and environmental impacts. The most comprehensive guidelines for large dams that protect the rights of river-dependent communities were outlined by the WCD in 2000. The commission had assessed the development effectiveness of dams in an independent, participatory process, and established what has...

Argentina has passed a landmark law that seeks to protect environmentally sensitive glaciers by imposing strict limits on mining. The Bill, passed by the Senate on Thursday last, prohibits mining near glaciers along Argentina's 5,000 km border with Chile. The Bill was approved by a tight vote of 35 to 33, with one abstention, said a Reuters report. The Bill had been passed by the lower house of Parliament earlier in July. President Cristina Kirchner had vetoed a 2008 Bill to protect glaciers...