In The News

Ban Sale of Ramin: Lobby Group

Evelyn Shih July 15, 2004
The logging of Indonesian ramin wood, a material used in such products as pool cues and picture frames, has largely been made illegal by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) because it contributes to the destruction of endangered rainforests and the orangutans that call them home. To ensure proper management of the forests, the Indonesian government has approved a...

Beyond Kyoto

John Browne July 8, 2004
Seven years after representatives from more than 180 nations gathered in Kyoto, Japan, the goals that were set up seem out of reach. America withdrew from the resultant agreement, and Canada, Japan, and the European Union have all fallen behind pollution reduction commitments. However, Lord Browne, Group Chief Executive of BP, optimistically re-evaluates the breakdown of the Kyoto Protocol as a...

Fresh Water Talks

Gamal Nkrumah June 11, 2004
In parts of North Africa, fresh water is a scarce commodity. Although the region's main pipeline – the mighty Nile River – is perhaps most often associated with Egypt, it actually runs through a host of countries further upstream. In order to map out use rights in an equitable fashion, the ten-country Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) hopes to bring all parties to the negotiation table. But the...

Asia ‘Needs Own Energy Resources’

Pennapa Hongthong June 9, 2004
A lack of domestic energy security has prompted discussion amongst Asian nations about a regional strategy on energy resources. At the Asia Development Research Forum, which concluded yesterday, researchers encouraged the region’s policy makers to develop domestic energy sources. Rather than depend on foreign imports, the focus should be on developing new and renewable energy resources. China’s...

A Change in the Climate

Vanessa Houlder May 19, 2004
The efficacy of the 1997 Kyoto environmental treaty, designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, hangs on Russia’s actions in the coming months. The protocol requires the participation of 55 percent of industrialized nations, and without Russian support, it lacks a deciding vote. Internal debate in Russia has focused the potential economic impacts on its struggling economy; those in...

World Set Back 10 Years by Bush's New World Order, Says Blair Aide

Paul Brown April 14, 2004
In a recent statement, the British prime minister's senior advisor Jonathan Porritt says US President George W. Bush has had a "devastating impact" on the world's work on sustainable development. Porrit accused the Bush administration's bad policies in a wide range of issues related to sustainable development, including climate change, international aid, family planning,...

Political Shades of Green Clash

Miguel Bustillo March 24, 2004
Immigration has once again spurred a divisive debate among environmental conservationists in the USA. Even the 112-year-old Sierra Club is facing an 'insurgent' campaign aimed at getting the group to come down hard for immigration restrictions. For decades, population control has featured prominently in the agenda of most environmental groups. Some environmentalists argue that the...