Category Archives: Natural resource management

Erratic monsoon keeps a parched Sri Lanka guessing

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COLOMBO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Warm April weather is nothing new in Sri Lanka. Over generations, Sri Lankans have become accustomed to temperatures of up to 34 degrees Celsius during this month, when the sun moves directly overhead. They also know from experience that the baking heat will soon be eased by the arrival of the monsoon in May. But this once-predictable cycle is changing. Weather experts, government officials, farmers and ordinary people seem unsure as to what the monsoon season is likely to bring this year. http://www.trust.org/item/20140424080217-ofdz5/?source=hptop

Amid construction boom, Myanmar starts to build disaster resilience

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YANGON, Myanmar (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Experts warn that in the midst of its boom, Myanmar must build resiliently, with an eye on the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters.

Since political and economic reforms were begun in November 2011 by the government of President Thein Sein, capital inflows have led to new offices, hotels and apartment complexes sprouting in the country’s largest city.

Elsewhere, new economic zones are being opened up, such as the Thilawa Industrial Zone near Yangon and the Dawei Special Economic Zone to the south, near the border with Thailand.

“We are building everywhere,” said Ko Zaw Zaw, who operates a vehicle dealership and owns several buildings on Sule Pagoda Road. – http://www.trust.org/item/20140415082813-3ou0h/?source=hptop

Biodiversity maintained, happiness regained

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On context of Godavari Kunda Community Forest members’ effort to clean the river track that flows down to many downhill areas in Lalitpur, the locals shared their experiences of deforestation of the forest and the harsh consequences they faced then after. But the continuous effort of local has brought a noticeable difference in the availability of water and increase in the yield in the area. The people who once were cutting trees to earn few hundred rupees are now giving scholarship to many students and running micro credits to help farmers with the money they gain from the community
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_nLHf9XtFk

Water Scarcity disturbs age old Social Harmony in Peri Urban Kathmandu-I

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Part 1– Change in weather and raining pattern (as experienced by locals of Peri Urban Areas in and near Kathmandu) has affected the traditional ways of farming and also their livestyles.The changes in raining pattern have resulted in the water scarcity which has ignited communal conflicts in the society. New varieties of weeds and pests have emerged challenging the traditional knowhow in the field. Nepal Engineering College has collected many such examples during its research on “Impact of Climate Change on water scarcity in Peri Urban Areas”. Research Associate Anushiya Joshi talks about it.

http://youtu.be/O-GE8CW8Czo

Out to pasture: Kashmir’s livestock-livelihood link threatened

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Be it the famed Pashmina shawls or the meat Kashmiris so love, the grasslands of Ladakh and the alpine pastures of the Kashmir Valley have long been a livelihood resource in India’s Jammu and Kashmir state. But the vital livestock-livelihood link, a way of life for centuries in the Himalayan region, could come undone as natural processes and human activity combine to threaten the pasture lands as never before.

The pastoral lands of Ladakh, a cold desert, and the Kashmir Valley – the two regions along with Jammu in the plains comprise the border state of Jammu and Kashmir – have played host to a variety of livestock and been a critical driver of the local economy since time immemorial.

More at:  http://www.thethirdpole.net/out-to-pasture-kashmirs-livestock-livelihood-link-threatened/

India struggles to control rising vehicle use, pollution

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NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Environmental and public health experts are warning that an explosion in the number of motorised vehicles on India’s roads is threatening the health and economic security of its population.

Stricter standards are needed to control vehicular pollution and regulate traffic, they say, along with moves to popularise non-motorised transport.

More at: http://www.trust.org/item/20131219175901-vb54c

Tourists’ toilet habits flush Himalayan town dry

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Tanzin Dorje can remember a time he could drink straight from the stream that runs through Ladakh’s main town Leh.

“Today, such a sight has become a dream,” he sighed. The huge number of tourists Ladakh receives now has not only changed peoples’ outlook, but both water quality and availability.

In Ladakh, often referred to as the land of freezing winds and burning sunlight, people once lived on livestock-rearing and farming. But after they found out the road to quick money lay in creating infrastructure for tourists, that was what they started doing everywhere.

More:  http://www.thethirdpole.net/tourists-toilet-habits-flush-himalayan-town-dry/

Nepal’s shifting rains and changing crops

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By Saleem Shaikh
October 17, 2013
Science and Development News Network International
www.scidev.net

A short video story on how shifting rains are leading to changing crop patterns.

Watch the climate video story on this weblink: http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/climate-change/multimedia/nepal-s-shifting-rains-and-changing-crops-1.html 

A Nepalese mountain farmer, in the scenic panityanki mountain village, packs cauliflower to send them to vegetable market in Kahtmandu, Nepal’s capital. SciDev.net/Saleem Shaikh

[KATHMANDU] With weather becoming more erratic every year as a result of climate change, Nepali farmers are progressively shifting their approach, turning vast areas of rice paddies into small-scale vegetablefarming. Vegetables are more resilient as they can be hand watered in case of drought. Farmers say that with rains that used to come in April now shifting as late as mid-June, vegetables that can be sown at the time the rains finally fall are now a better investment.

But large parts of their fields now remain uncultivated due to lack of water.

The situation raises concern among experts, who warn that a shift from rice to vegetable cultivation may harm food security. They also say that without adequate support from the government farmers’ livelihood could be at risk. According to researchers, there is now a need for insurance schemes, public subsidies and improved early-warning systems to forecast extreme weather.

Website: http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/climate-change/multimedia/nepal-s-shifting-rains-and-changing-crops-1.html