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11-11-2009
Afghanistan appears to be getting drier. Many traditional irrigation sources such as springs, streams, rivers and man-made subterranean aqueducts have been drying up in the southern provinces.
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Image: There will be a likely increase in the attractiveness of more drought-hardy crops, such as opium poppy/ Photo credit: IRIN
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03-11-2009
Last week’s fire at an oil depot in a western Indian city is posing serious health hazards for people living in its vicinity. Experts fear that spreading smoke may also hit agriculture in the surrounding villages that supply vegetables and food grain to Jaipur.
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Image: Black smoke from the burning IOC depot hangs over Sitapura, Jaipur/ Photo credit: The Hindu
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28-10-2009
A conference on tiger conservation in Nepal has begun with a warning that traders and poachers are better organised than conservationists. The Nepalese government has sought cooperation from its neighbours for trans-border conservation efforts to save the endangered species and its natural habitat.
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Image: We need to take quick measures to protect these species from extinction, says Nepalese PM/ Photo credit: AFP
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21-10-2009
India’s former health minister in a letter to the Prime Minister has asked the government to put a 10-year moratorium on the environmental release of all GM crops. He has also opposed any commercial release of Bt Brinjal.
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14-10-2009
Nepal government’s decision to phase out the popular three-wheeler taxis and replace them with imported microbuses has led to large scale protests by the drivers, who are demanding compensation. The vehicles use obsolete technology and create problems with traffic management.
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Image: There are some 600 three-wheeler taxis in Kathmandu/ Photo credit: BBC
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30-09-2009
In India's impoverished state of Bihar, floods have forced people to come up with an environmentally friendly and cheaper way to cremate their dead. Instead of mango wood that is used traditionally, cow dung is being used to perform the last rites.
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25-09-2009
An aquatic species in India is in urgent need of a sanctuary for its conservation. Freshwater otters, whose pelts are in high demand by the fur trade, are facing extinction.
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Image: Freshwater otters in the Kaveri river/ Photo credit: Kenneth Anderson Nature Society
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24-09-2009
A civil servant from Bihar has successfully involved the rural populace in a green drive under the country’s rural employment scheme. Such innovative ideas are linking environmental challenges with those of sustainable development.
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Image: Re-forestation initiative in Bihar/ Photo credit: Prashant Ravi/ BBC
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15-09-2009
A study by International Union for Conservation of Nature finds that the number of Ganges river dolphins has declined by 50% over the last five decades. Scientists report that accidental killing and poaching for oil pose a major threat to the endangered species in the Brahmaputra river system.
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Image: Dolphins are in great demand for their oil that commands medicinal value/ Photo credit: WWF India
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14-09-2009
Last week’s Lok Awaas Yatra, a journey to experience sustainable habitat initiatives across rural India, visited Malumbra village in western Indian state of Maharshtra. Ravaged by an earthquake in 1993, the local communities have constructed houses keeping in mind needs for safety and sanitation.
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Image: Puja stands in front of the newly constructed toilet/ Photo credit: LokAwaas Yatra
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