"We are being befooled by the executive", was how a "frustrated" Supreme Court said on Tuesday while ruing the fact that around Rs one lakh crore worth of funds meant to protect the environment and benefit the people, was being diverted for other purposes.

Severely criticising the government, the apex court observed that it had "trusted" the executive, but the authorities do not work. And when the court says something, it is said that there is "judicial overreach and activism".

A bench, comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta, made it clear that this huge amount of money, collected under various funds created on the apex court's orders for the protection of the environment, was to be used only for environmental purposes and benefit of the people.

"It is very clear that the amount was used for purposes, other than what it was entrusted. How far you want the court to go? We trusted the executive but they say they will do whatever they want," the bench said.

"First, we have to catch them that you have diverted the money and betrayed the trust. Are we policemen or investigating officers? We are not talking about a small amount," the bench said, adding, "It is very, very frustrating".

It said around Rs 11,700 crore was there in the Compensatory Afforestation Funds Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), which was created under the top court's order, and the total amount lying in all such funds would come to around Rs one lakh crore.

However, one of the lawyers told the court that around Rs 11,000 crore from CAMPA was already spent and the total amount in it would be around Rs 50,000 crore.

"What we are supposed to do? You people do not work. It is completely beyond imagination," the bench observed, adding, "when we say, it is said there is judicial overreach and judicial activism. We are being befooled by the executive".

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) ANS Nadkarni, appearing for ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF&CC), said the court should tell the Union of India as to where and how these funds should be used and where it cannot be used.

"It (money) cannot be used for civic or municipal purposes," he said.

The bench noted that there was around Rs 90,000 to Rs one lakh crore money which was lying with the Centre and the states under various heads consequent to the court orders and directed the secretary of MoEF&CC to make a compilation of all the funds, amounts lying in it as on March 31 this year.

"Secretary of the MoEF&CC is further directed to give us some indication as to how the amount of Rs one lakh crore is intended to be utilised and areas where it should not be utilised," the bench said and posted the matter for further hearing on May 9.

The issue of usage of these funds for other purposes cropped up when the apex court perused an affidavit filed by the chief secretary of Odisha and observed that the money was being used for the construction of roads, renovation of bus stands and science laboratory in colleges.

"This money is meant for the benefit of the people. It is to be utilised for that only and not as a part of your governance," the court told the counsel representing Odisha.

"It is part of your job as a state. Construction of roads and installing streetlight is your job as a state. People's funds cannot be used for it. Your total expenditure for social cause is not even five per cent," the bench said, adding, "we cannot permit you to do this. This money is for benefit of people and not for benefit of the government".

An advocate, assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the matter, said the money collected under these funds were to be used for welfare of tribals in Odisha.

The court allowed the request of Odisha's counsel for three weeks time to file further details and asked its chief secretary to remain present before it on the next date of hearing.

The bench also perused the affidavit filed by Meghalaya and pulled up the state for keeping the funds meant for the welfare of the people only in the bank.

It also took exception to the fact that Meghalaya's affidavit did not even clearly mention how much amount collected under these funds was lying in the banks and observed, "it is too much".

"This is turning out to be a joke," the bench said and termed it a "very badly drafted" affidavit.&nbsp

It granted four weeks to Meghalaya to file a better affidavit and asked the chief secretary of the state to remain present before it on the next date of hearing.&nbsp

The court was also informed that Rs 1,301 crore amount has been collected in Delhi under the Environment Compensation Charge (ECC), which the apex court had earlier imposed on commercial vehicles entering Delhi in addition to the toll tax, and another Rs 70.5 crore was collected and lying with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the cent cess levied on the vehicles having engine capacity of more than 2,000 cc.&nbsp

The bench asked the Delhi government and MoEF&CC to apprise it as to how this money would be utilised.

The court was hearing a PIL filed in 1985 by environmentalist M C Mehta who had raised the issue of air pollution in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR).&nbsp

Severely criticising the government, the apex court observed that it had "trusted" the executive, but the authorities do not work.

"We are being befooled by the executive", was how a "frustrated" Supreme Court said on Tuesday while ruing the fact that around Rs one lakh crore worth of funds meant to protect the environment and benefit the people, was being diverted for other purposes. Severely criticising the government, the apex court observed that it had "trusted" the executive, but the authorities do not work. And when the court says something, it is said that there is "judicial overreach and activism". A bench, comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta, made it clear that this huge amount of money, collected under various funds created on the apex court's orders for the protection of the environment, was to be used only for environmental purposes and benefit of the people. "It is very clear that the amount was used for purposes, other than what it was entrusted. How far you want the court to go? We trusted the executive but they say they will do whatever they want," the bench said. "First, we have to catch them that you have diverted the money and betrayed the trust. Are we policemen or investigating officers? We are not talking about a small amount," the bench said, adding, "It is very, very frustrating". It said around Rs 11,700 crore was there in the Compensatory Afforestation Funds Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), which was created under the top court's order, and the total amount lying in all such funds would come to around Rs one lakh crore. However, one of the lawyers told the court that around Rs 11,000 crore from CAMPA was already spent and the total amount in it would be around Rs 50,000 crore. "What we are supposed to do? You people do not work. It is completely beyond imagination," the bench observed, adding, "when we say, it is said there is judicial overreach and judicial activism. We are being befooled by the executive". Additional Solicitor General (ASG) ANS Nadkarni, appearing for ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF&CC), said the court should tell the Union of India as to where and how these funds should be used and where it cannot be used. "It (money) cannot be used for civic or municipal purposes," he said. The bench noted that there was around Rs 90,000 to Rs one lakh crore money which was lying with the Centre and the states under various heads consequent to the court orders and directed the secretary of MoEF&CC to make a compilation of all the funds, amounts lying in it as on March 31 this year. "Secretary of the MoEF&CC is further directed to give us some indication as to how the amount of Rs one lakh crore is intended to be utilised and areas where it should not be utilised," the bench said and posted the matter for further hearing on May 9. The issue of usage of these funds for other purposes cropped up when the apex court perused an affidavit filed by the chief secretary of Odisha and observed that the money was being used for the construction of roads, renovation of bus stands and science laboratory in colleges. "This money is meant for the benefit of the people. It is to be utilised for that only and not as a part of your governance," the court told the counsel representing Odisha. "It is part of your job as a state. Construction of roads and installing streetlight is your job as a state. People's funds cannot be used for it. Your total expenditure for social cause is not even five per cent," the bench said, adding, "we cannot permit you to do this. This money is for benefit of people and not for benefit of the government". An advocate, assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the matter, said the money collected under these funds were to be used for welfare of tribals in Odisha. The court allowed the request of Odisha's counsel for three weeks time to file further details and asked its chief secretary to remain present before it on the next date of hearing. The bench also perused the affidavit filed by Meghalaya and pulled up the state for keeping the funds meant for the welfare of the people only in the bank. It also took exception to the fact that Meghalaya's affidavit did not even clearly mention how much amount collected under these funds was lying in the banks and observed, "it is too much". "This is turning out to be a joke," the bench said and termed it a "very badly drafted" affidavit. It granted four weeks to Meghalaya to file a better affidavit and asked the chief secretary of the state to remain present before it on the next date of hearing. The court was also informed that Rs 1,301 crore amount has been collected in Delhi under the Environment Compensation Charge (ECC), which the apex court had earlier imposed on commercial vehicles entering Delhi in addition to the toll tax, and another Rs 70.5 crore was collected and lying with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the cent cess levied on the vehicles having engine capacity of more than 2,000 cc. The bench asked the Delhi government and MoEF&CC to apprise it as to how this money would be utilised. The court was hearing a PIL filed in 1985 by environmentalist M C Mehta who had raised the issue of air pollution in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR).

We are being ‘befooled’ by executive: ‘Frustrated’ SC on diversion of funds meant for protecting environment

India will have to create and nurture a very healthy and supportive macro-economic environment to become USD 10 trillion economy by 2030, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg today said here.

Garg further said the Modi government has taken many reform measures since 2014, including GST (Goods and Service Tax) and IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code).

"We are USD 2.5 trillion economy... growing reasonably well... By 2030, to become USD 10 trillion economy, we will have to create and nurture very healthy and supportive macro-economic environment," he said while participating in panel discussion organised by industry body CII.

Garg also said the government is working on an overseas investment policy with an aim to provide support to Indian businesses which will invest abroad.

Speaking at the event, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said India should not be only in top 50 in ease of doing business rank, but the country should do even better.

Abhishek pointed out that India is the most open economy as far as FDI is concerned.

C K Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said in 2014, it used to take 600 days to get environment clearance, now it takes 121 days to get environment clearances.

"By August, it will come down to 100 days," Mishra added.

K P Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said India requires 10 times the number of skilled force that the country is currently producing. 
&nbsp

Speaking at the event, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said India should not be only in top 50 in ease of doing business rank, but the country should do even better.

India will have to create and nurture a very healthy and supportive macro-economic environment to become USD 10 trillion economy by 2030, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg today said here. Garg further said the Modi government has taken many reform measures since 2014, including GST (Goods and Service Tax) and IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code). "We are USD 2.5 trillion economy... growing reasonably well... By 2030, to become USD 10 trillion economy, we will have to create and nurture very healthy and supportive macro-economic environment," he said while participating in panel discussion organised by industry body CII. Garg also said the government is working on an overseas investment policy with an aim to provide support to Indian businesses which will invest abroad. Speaking at the event, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said India should not be only in top 50 in ease of doing business rank, but the country should do even better. Abhishek pointed out that India is the most open economy as far as FDI is concerned. C K Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said in 2014, it used to take 600 days to get environment clearance, now it takes 121 days to get environment clearances. "By August, it will come down to 100 days," Mishra added. K P Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said India requires 10 times the number of skilled force that the country is currently producing.

'India needs healthy macro-economic environment to become $10 trillion economy'

Your favourite chocolates may be significantly harming the environment, say scientists who found that the UK chocolate industry produces about 2.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in a year.

A study, published in the journal Food Research International, looked at the carbon footprint of chocolate and its other environmental impacts.

Researchers from the University of Manchester in the UK assessed the impact of ingredients, manufacturing processes, packaging and waste.

The study estimates that the UK chocolate industry produces about 2.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year.

This is equivalent to the annual emissions of the whole population of a city as large as Belfast.

It also found that it takes around 1,000 litres of water to produce just one chocolate bar.

On average, each person individually consumes about eight kilograms of chocolate per year, researchers said.

They found the raw materials used to produce chocolate as well as the packaging are the major environmental hotspot.

The impact from the ingredients is mainly due to milk powder, cocoa derivatives, sugar and palm oil.

"Most of us love chocolate, but don't often think of what it takes to get from cocoa beans to the chocolate products we buy in the shop," said Adisa Azapagic, a professor at the University of Manchester.

"Cocoa is cultivated around the equator in humid climate conditions, mainly in West Africa and Central and South America so it has to travel some distance before it makes it into the chocolate products we produce and consume in the UK," said Azapagic.

According to the International Cocoa Organisation, the annual production of cocoa beans in 2016 was 4.25 million tonnes.

The worldwide sales of chocolate are estimated to be worth more than $101 billion.

Production of the milk powder used to make milk chocolates is very energy intensive. Dairy cows also produce significant greenhouse gas emissions per litre of milk produced. All of this adds to the environmental impact of chocolate.

"We hope this work will help the chocolate industry to target the environmental hotspots in the supply chains and make chocolate products as sustainable as possible," said Azapagic.

The study estimates that the UK chocolate industry produces about 2.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year

Your favourite chocolates may be significantly harming the environment, say scientists who found that the UK chocolate industry produces about 2.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in a year. A study, published in the journal Food Research International, looked at the carbon footprint of chocolate and its other environmental impacts. Researchers from the University of Manchester in the UK assessed the impact of ingredients, manufacturing processes, packaging and waste. The study estimates that the UK chocolate industry produces about 2.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of the whole population of a city as large as Belfast. It also found that it takes around 1,000 litres of water to produce just one chocolate bar. On average, each person individually consumes about eight kilograms of chocolate per year, researchers said. They found the raw materials used to produce chocolate as well as the packaging are the major environmental hotspot. The impact from the ingredients is mainly due to milk powder, cocoa derivatives, sugar and palm oil. "Most of us love chocolate, but don't often think of what it takes to get from cocoa beans to the chocolate products we buy in the shop," said Adisa Azapagic, a professor at the University of Manchester. "Cocoa is cultivated around the equator in humid climate conditions, mainly in West Africa and Central and South America so it has to travel some distance before it makes it into the chocolate products we produce and consume in the UK," said Azapagic. According to the International Cocoa Organisation, the annual production of cocoa beans in 2016 was 4.25 million tonnes. The worldwide sales of chocolate are estimated to be worth more than $101 billion. Production of the milk powder used to make milk chocolates is very energy intensive. Dairy cows also produce significant greenhouse gas emissions per litre of milk produced. All of this adds to the environmental impact of chocolate. "We hope this work will help the chocolate industry to target the environmental hotspots in the supply chains and make chocolate products as sustainable as possible," said Azapagic.

Chocolate production may be harming environment: Study

The number of pollution sources in China has increased by more than half in eight years, the environment ministry said on Thursday as it embarks on a nationwide survey to determine the damage done by more than 30 years of untrammelled growth.

The announcement from the newly minted Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) underlines the challenges facing China, in its fifth year of a war on air, water and soil pollution, as it tries to crack down on data fraud and improve monitoring.

The government is currently conducting a second nationwide "environmental census" aimed at identifying pollution threats throughout the country. The first was published in 2010.

"The goal for the census is to do thorough data collection so that it can reflect the extent of the pollution," Hong Yaxiong, the head of the ministry's pollution survey office, told reporters at the first regular briefing since the beefed-up ministry was created this month.

The environment ministry absorbed new duties formerly held by the land, water and agriculture ministries as part of the biggest government shake-up in years. It will also now be in charge of climate change and carbon emissions.

The new census is due to be completed in 2019. According to preliminary estimates, the total number of pollution sources now stands at 9 million, including 7.4 million industrial sources, 1 million in rural areas and 0.5 million from urban locations, Hong said.

The first census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics from 2007 to 2009, uncovered 5.9 million sources of pollution nationwide, with the industrial provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang at the top of the list.

The survey also identified 209.8 billion tonnes of wastewater, 63.7 trillion cubic metres of waste gas emissions and 3.852 billion tonnes of industrial solid waste nationwide.

Started last year, the second census will widen its scope to include industrial parks, rural pollution sources, boilers, municipal and wastewater outlets, and it will also survey soil pollution sources such as mercury, cadmium or lead.

The newly minted Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) announced

The number of pollution sources in China has increased by more than half in eight years, the environment ministry said on Thursday as it embarks on a nationwide survey to determine the damage done by more than 30 years of untrammelled growth. The announcement from the newly minted Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) underlines the challenges facing China, in its fifth year of a war on air, water and soil pollution, as it tries to crack down on data fraud and improve monitoring. The government is currently conducting a second nationwide "environmental census" aimed at identifying pollution threats throughout the country. The first was published in 2010. "The goal for the census is to do thorough data collection so that it can reflect the extent of the pollution," Hong Yaxiong, the head of the ministry's pollution survey office, told reporters at the first regular briefing since the beefed-up ministry was created this month. The environment ministry absorbed new duties formerly held by the land, water and agriculture ministries as part of the biggest government shake-up in years. It will also now be in charge of climate change and carbon emissions. The new census is due to be completed in 2019. According to preliminary estimates, the total number of pollution sources now stands at 9 million, including 7.4 million industrial sources, 1 million in rural areas and 0.5 million from urban locations, Hong said. The first census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics from 2007 to 2009, uncovered 5.9 million sources of pollution nationwide, with the industrial provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang at the top of the list. The survey also identified 209.8 billion tonnes of wastewater, 63.7 trillion cubic metres of waste gas emissions and 3.852 billion tonnes of industrial solid waste nationwide. Started last year, the second census will widen its scope to include industrial parks, rural pollution sources, boilers, municipal and wastewater outlets, and it will also survey soil pollution sources such as mercury, cadmium or lead.

China pollution sources up by more than half since 2010: Official

Maharashtra state government has imposed a complete ban on plastic across the state becoming the 18th state of the country to impose such ban.

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Effective from today, the ban has been put on storage, manufacture, use, &nbsp;distribution, wholesale and retail sale import and transportation of all kinds of plastic bags.

Use of thermocol and disposable cutlery&nbsp;including straws,&nbsp;pouches to store food items and liquid items are also banned.

The government has given one month to traders, manufacturers and consumers to dispose of the banned plastic items.

Local administrations of the state have also been asked to start a collection point to accept the banned item from consumers only while manufacturers and traders will have to look for recycling facilities.

The proposal of the ban was cleared by Maharashtra cabinet on March 15.

In&nbsp;case&nbsp;of violation, the manufactures and users will have to pay fine of 5,000 rupees.

Plastic products that have been exempted from the ban are milk pouches, wrappers for processed food, dustbin liners, medicines packs, solid waste and agricultural products and PET bottles.

However, the PET bottles and milk pouches will be sold on an additional price of 1-2 rupees which will be refunded to the consumer after the return the retailer for recycling.&nbsp;

Dairies have also been instructed to make an attempt to sell milk in glass bottles.

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Effective from today, the ban has been put on storage, manufacture, use, distribution, wholesale and retail sale import and transportation of all kinds of plastic bags

Maharashtra state government has imposed a complete ban on plastic across the state becoming the 18th state of the country to impose such ban. × Effective from today, the ban has been put on storage, manufacture, use, distribution, wholesale and retail sale import and transportation of all kinds of plastic bags. Use of thermocol and disposable cutlery including straws, pouches to store food items and liquid items are also banned. The government has given one month to traders, manufacturers and consumers to dispose of the banned plastic items. Local administrations of the state have also been asked to start a collection point to accept the banned item from consumers only while manufacturers and traders will have to look for recycling facilities. The proposal of the ban was cleared by Maharashtra cabinet on March 15. In case of violation, the manufactures and users will have to pay fine of 5,000 rupees. Plastic products that have been exempted from the ban are milk pouches, wrappers for processed food, dustbin liners, medicines packs, solid waste and agricultural products and PET bottles. However, the PET bottles and milk pouches will be sold on an additional price of 1-2 rupees which will be refunded to the consumer after the return the retailer for recycling. Dairies have also been instructed to make an attempt to sell milk in glass bottles.

Maharashtra becomes 18th state to ban plastic, effective from Saturday

Governments should focus on &quot;greener&quot; policies to improve the supply and quality of water as climate change and a growing global population threaten the water security of billions, the United Nations said today.

In its 2018 World Water Development Report, the UN calculated that an estimated 3.6 billion people -- nearly half the global population -- live in areas where water can be scarce at least one month per year.

And this number could rise to 5.7 billion by 2050, the report warned.

&quot;If we do nothing, some five billion people will be living in areas with poor access to water by 2050,&quot; said UNESCO Director General, Audrey Azoulay, at the presentation of the report in Brasilia.

&quot;This report proposes solutions that are based on nature to manage water better. This is a major task all of us need to accomplish together responsibly so as to avoid water-related conflicts,&quot; she said.

Global water use has increased by a factor of six over the past century &quot;and continues to grow steadily at a rate of about one percent per year,&quot; the report said.

And use is expected to rise significantly due to population growth, economic development and changing consumption patterns, among other factors.

&quot;The vast majority of the growing demand for water will occur in countries with developing or emerging economies,&quot; the report said.

At the same time, the global water cycle was intensifying due to climate change, &quot;with wetter regions generally becoming wetter and drier regions becoming even drier.&quot; - &#39;Ecosystem-friendly&#39; -

So-called &quot;grey&quot; or man-made water infrastructure -- such as reservoirs, irrigation canals and treatment plants -- were no longer sufficient to meet these challenges, said the report&#39;s editor-in-chief, Richard Connor.

There is increasingly limited room to build more reservoirs because of silting, environmental concerns and restrictions, as well as the fact that in many developed countries the most cost-effective and viable sites had already been used, the UN argued.

&quot;In many cases, more ecosystem-friendly forms of water storage, such as natural wetlands, improvements in soil moisture and more efficient recharge of groundwater, could be more sustainable and cost-effective than traditional grey infrastructure such as dams.&quot;

&quot;Nature plays a unique and fundamental role in regulating the different functions of the water cycle,&quot; Connor said.

Nature-based solutions &quot;can act as regulator, cleaner and water supplier&quot;.

The report said that green solutions were already showing great potential.

New York, for example, has protected the three largest watersheds that supply water to the city since the late 1990s through forest preservation programmes and paying farmers to take on environmentally friendly practices.

&quot;Disposing of the largest unfiltered water supply in the US, the city now saves more than $300 million (245 million euros) yearly on water sea treatment and maintenance costs,&quot; the UN said.

Another example was China&#39;s &quot;Sponge City&quot; project to improve water availability.

By 2020, China plans to build 16 pilot projects across the country with the aim of recycling 70 percent of rainwater through greater soil permeation, retention and storage, water purification and the restoration of adjacent wetlands.

&quot;These solutions are cost-effective&quot; and not more expensive than traditional systems, said Connor.

The UN pointed to estimates that agricultural production could be increased by about 20 percent worldwide if greener water management practices were used.

In addition to improving water availability and quality, &quot;it is possible to increase agricultural production per hectare with better water management&quot; and thus feed more people, said Stefan Uhlenbrook, programme coordinator at the UN World Water Assessment Forum.

&quot;Green&quot; infrastructure also helps fight erosion, drought and flood risks while boosting soil quality and vegetation.

And indigenous peoples could be involved in implementation, something which was not the case in &quot;grey&quot; infrastructure,&quot; the report said.

At the moment, however, only &quot;marginal&quot; use was made of such nature-based solutions.

&quot;Accurate figures are not available&quot;, but investments in these techniques &quot;appear to be less than one percent... Of total investment in infrastructure and water resource management,&quot; according to the report.

They &quot;are often perceived as less effective&quot; because they are less visible, Connor said.

The UN calculated that an estimated 3.6 billion people live in areas where water can be scarce at least one month per year

Governments should focus on "greener" policies to improve the supply and quality of water as climate change and a growing global population threaten the water security of billions, the United Nations said today. In its 2018 World Water Development Report, the UN calculated that an estimated 3.6 billion people -- nearly half the global population -- live in areas where water can be scarce at least one month per year. And this number could rise to 5.7 billion by 2050, the report warned. "If we do nothing, some five billion people will be living in areas with poor access to water by 2050," said UNESCO Director General, Audrey Azoulay, at the presentation of the report in Brasilia. "This report proposes solutions that are based on nature to manage water better. This is a major task all of us need to accomplish together responsibly so as to avoid water-related conflicts," she said. Global water use has increased by a factor of six over the past century "and continues to grow steadily at a rate of about one percent per year," the report said. And use is expected to rise significantly due to population growth, economic development and changing consumption patterns, among other factors. "The vast majority of the growing demand for water will occur in countries with developing or emerging economies," the report said. At the same time, the global water cycle was intensifying due to climate change, "with wetter regions generally becoming wetter and drier regions becoming even drier." - 'Ecosystem-friendly' - So-called "grey" or man-made water infrastructure -- such as reservoirs, irrigation canals and treatment plants -- were no longer sufficient to meet these challenges, said the report's editor-in-chief, Richard Connor. There is increasingly limited room to build more reservoirs because of silting, environmental concerns and restrictions, as well as the fact that in many developed countries the most cost-effective and viable sites had already been used, the UN argued. "In many cases, more ecosystem-friendly forms of water storage, such as natural wetlands, improvements in soil moisture and more efficient recharge of groundwater, could be more sustainable and cost-effective than traditional grey infrastructure such as dams." "Nature plays a unique and fundamental role in regulating the different functions of the water cycle," Connor said. Nature-based solutions "can act as regulator, cleaner and water supplier". The report said that green solutions were already showing great potential. New York, for example, has protected the three largest watersheds that supply water to the city since the late 1990s through forest preservation programmes and paying farmers to take on environmentally friendly practices. "Disposing of the largest unfiltered water supply in the US, the city now saves more than $300 million (245 million euros) yearly on water sea treatment and maintenance costs," the UN said. Another example was China's "Sponge City" project to improve water availability. By 2020, China plans to build 16 pilot projects across the country with the aim of recycling 70 percent of rainwater through greater soil permeation, retention and storage, water purification and the restoration of adjacent wetlands. "These solutions are cost-effective" and not more expensive than traditional systems, said Connor. The UN pointed to estimates that agricultural production could be increased by about 20 percent worldwide if greener water management practices were used. In addition to improving water availability and quality, "it is possible to increase agricultural production per hectare with better water management" and thus feed more people, said Stefan Uhlenbrook, programme coordinator at the UN World Water Assessment Forum. "Green" infrastructure also helps fight erosion, drought and flood risks while boosting soil quality and vegetation. And indigenous peoples could be involved in implementation, something which was not the case in "grey" infrastructure," the report said. At the moment, however, only "marginal" use was made of such nature-based solutions. "Accurate figures are not available", but investments in these techniques "appear to be less than one percent... Of total investment in infrastructure and water resource management," according to the report. They "are often perceived as less effective" because they are less visible, Connor said.

World needs 'greener' water policies as demand rises: UN

Every day more than 1,000 water tankers rumble past Nagraj&#39;s small plywood store in Bangalore, throwing up clouds of dust as they rush their valuable cargo to homes and offices in India&#39;s drought-stricken tech hub.

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Gleaming new apartment blocks are still springing up all over the city is known as India&#39;s Silicon Valley -- even though there is nowhere near enough mains water to supply those already living and working there.

Many rely entirely on supplies shipped in by tankers filled from giant borewells that have caused groundwater levels to plummet, sparking predictions Bangalore could be the first Indian city to run out of the water.

&quot;There is a severe scarcity of water here,&quot; said Nagraj, 30, who moved to the suburban neighbourhood of Panathur a decade ago and has seen it transformed by rampant construction.

&quot;The future will be very difficult. It is impossible to imagine how they will find water, how they will live. Even if we dig 1,500 feet (450 metres) down, we are not getting water.&quot;

Panathur lies next to Bangalore&#39;s biggest lake, Bellandur, which provides a poignant reminder that things weren&#39;t always like this.

Once known as India&#39;s garden city for its lush green parks, Bangalore was built around a series of lakes created to form rainwater reservoirs and prevent the precious resource from draining away.

Many have now been concreted over to build apartment blocks with names like Dream Acres and Strawberry Fields to house the workers who have flocked here during India&#39;s outsourcing boom.

Many of those that remain are heavily polluted. Bellandur has become so toxic it spontaneously catches fire, and emits clouds of white froth so large authorities have had to build barriers to keep it from spilling onto the road.

&quot;The city is dying,&quot; says TV&nbsp;Ramachandra, an ecologist with the Indian Institute of Science who has predicted the Karnataka state capital could be the first Indian city to follow Cape Town in running out of water.

&quot;If the current trend of growth and urbanisation is allowed (to continue), by 2020, 94 percent of the landscape will be concretised.&quot;

Already, more than half of Bangalore&#39;s estimated 10 million inhabitants have to rely on borewells and tankers for their water because there isn&#39;t enough mains supply to go round.

Most of the city&#39;s municipal water is supplied by the Cauvery river, whose waters flow through Karnataka and neighbouring Tamil Nadu state before emptying into the Bay of Bengal, and have been bitterly disputed for more than a century.

Two years ago, an order to release extra water from the river to ease a shortage threatening crops in Tamil Nadu sparked deadly protests in Bangalore that forced hundreds of companies to close.

Last month the Supreme Court stepped in, altering the river-sharing arrangement in Karnataka&#39;s favour citing Bangalore&#39;s dire need.Ecologist Ramachandra says Bangalore has enough annual rainfall to provide water for its estimated 10 million people without resorting to borewells or rivers -- if only it could harvest the resource more effectively.

&quot;If there is a water crisis, we should not think about river diversion. We should think about how to retain the water,&quot; he said, blaming &quot;fragmented, uncoordinated governance&quot; for the crisis.

As in the rest of India though, there is little incentive for citizens to save water.

Despite years of drought, the government still provides clean water to citizens at heavily subsidised rates and access to groundwater is largely unregulated.

&quot;In Bangalore 1,000 bottles of the cleanest treated water comes to our doorstep and we pay only six rupees (about nine cents)... the incentive is not there,&quot; says A.R. Shivakumar, a senior scientist with the Karnataka State Council of Science and Technology.

Despite this, Shivakumar and his family have not used a single drop of mains water in the 23 years they have lived at their home in Bangalore.

Instead they rely entirely on rainwater collected through gutters and stored in large tanks under the house, which Shivakumar designed with water efficiency in mind. Even the cement used to build it was made with recycled water.

His work setting up rainwater harvesting at bus stops, in slum housing and even along the city&#39;s metro system proved so effective that city authorities now require all new housing developments to have inbuilt systems.

&quot;This crisis will force everyone to take up measures like rainwater harvesting and water conservation measures,&quot; he told AFP.

&quot;The new generation have shown a lot of concern toward the environment and conservation measures. That will definitely take it forward. Awareness is already on the increase.&quot;

Every day more than 1,000 water tankers rumble past Nagraj's small plywood store in Bangalore, throwing up clouds of dust as they rush their valuable cargo to homes and offices in India's drought-stricken tech hub

Every day more than 1,000 water tankers rumble past Nagraj's small plywood store in Bangalore, throwing up clouds of dust as they rush their valuable cargo to homes and offices in India's drought-stricken tech hub. × Gleaming new apartment blocks are still springing up all over the city is known as India's Silicon Valley -- even though there is nowhere near enough mains water to supply those already living and working there. Many rely entirely on supplies shipped in by tankers filled from giant borewells that have caused groundwater levels to plummet, sparking predictions Bangalore could be the first Indian city to run out of the water. "There is a severe scarcity of water here," said Nagraj, 30, who moved to the suburban neighbourhood of Panathur a decade ago and has seen it transformed by rampant construction. "The future will be very difficult. It is impossible to imagine how they will find water, how they will live. Even if we dig 1,500 feet (450 metres) down, we are not getting water." Panathur lies next to Bangalore's biggest lake, Bellandur, which provides a poignant reminder that things weren't always like this. Once known as India's garden city for its lush green parks, Bangalore was built around a series of lakes created to form rainwater reservoirs and prevent the precious resource from draining away. Many have now been concreted over to build apartment blocks with names like Dream Acres and Strawberry Fields to house the workers who have flocked here during India's outsourcing boom. Many of those that remain are heavily polluted. Bellandur has become so toxic it spontaneously catches fire, and emits clouds of white froth so large authorities have had to build barriers to keep it from spilling onto the road. "The city is dying," says TV Ramachandra, an ecologist with the Indian Institute of Science who has predicted the Karnataka state capital could be the first Indian city to follow Cape Town in running out of water. "If the current trend of growth and urbanisation is allowed (to continue), by 2020, 94 percent of the landscape will be concretised." Already, more than half of Bangalore's estimated 10 million inhabitants have to rely on borewells and tankers for their water because there isn't enough mains supply to go round. Most of the city's municipal water is supplied by the Cauvery river, whose waters flow through Karnataka and neighbouring Tamil Nadu state before emptying into the Bay of Bengal, and have been bitterly disputed for more than a century. Two years ago, an order to release extra water from the river to ease a shortage threatening crops in Tamil Nadu sparked deadly protests in Bangalore that forced hundreds of companies to close. Last month the Supreme Court stepped in, altering the river-sharing arrangement in Karnataka's favour citing Bangalore's dire need.Ecologist Ramachandra says Bangalore has enough annual rainfall to provide water for its estimated 10 million people without resorting to borewells or rivers -- if only it could harvest the resource more effectively. "If there is a water crisis, we should not think about river diversion. We should think about how to retain the water," he said, blaming "fragmented, uncoordinated governance" for the crisis. As in the rest of India though, there is little incentive for citizens to save water. Despite years of drought, the government still provides clean water to citizens at heavily subsidised rates and access to groundwater is largely unregulated. "In Bangalore 1,000 bottles of the cleanest treated water comes to our doorstep and we pay only six rupees (about nine cents)... the incentive is not there," says A.R. Shivakumar, a senior scientist with the Karnataka State Council of Science and Technology. Despite this, Shivakumar and his family have not used a single drop of mains water in the 23 years they have lived at their home in Bangalore. Instead they rely entirely on rainwater collected through gutters and stored in large tanks under the house, which Shivakumar designed with water efficiency in mind. Even the cement used to build it was made with recycled water. His work setting up rainwater harvesting at bus stops, in slum housing and even along the city's metro system proved so effective that city authorities now require all new housing developments to have inbuilt systems. "This crisis will force everyone to take up measures like rainwater harvesting and water conservation measures," he told AFP. "The new generation have shown a lot of concern toward the environment and conservation measures. That will definitely take it forward. Awareness is already on the increase."

India's Silicon Valley faces man-made water crisis

China is all set to get a gigantic panda park which will be readied in the next five years for an estimated cost of 10 billion yuan ($1.58 billion). China&#39;s Sichuan province government has secured funding for the Giant Panda National Park.&nbsp;

The park is believed to be thrice the size of the Yellowstone National Park in the US.

The park will aim to protect wild pandas across Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. The funding for the park will also help alleviate poverty for residents living in the park and improve infrastructure.

China&#39;s environment ministry had approved plans to draw up &quot;red lines&quot; last month. As per the plan, large areas including wetlands, forests, national parks and protected natures zones of certain provinces will be kept off-limits to economic development. 
&nbsp; 
(With inputs from Reuters)&nbsp;

The park is believed to be thrice the size of the Yellowstone National Park in the US

China is all set to get a gigantic panda park which will be readied in the next five years for an estimated cost of 10 billion yuan ($1.58 billion). China's Sichuan province government has secured funding for the Giant Panda National Park. The park is believed to be thrice the size of the Yellowstone National Park in the US. The park will aim to protect wild pandas across Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. The funding for the park will also help alleviate poverty for residents living in the park and improve infrastructure. China's environment ministry had approved plans to draw up "red lines" last month. As per the plan, large areas including wetlands, forests, national parks and protected natures zones of certain provinces will be kept off-limits to economic development. (With inputs from Reuters)

China to get massive panda park

Although China Pakistan Economic Corridor, CPEC, is being seen by Pakistan as a game changer in terms of development and infrastructure, the highly touted China-backed project could also turn unsustainable.&nbsp;

An NGO in Pakistan has declared 36 Glaciers dangerous for the environment in Gilgit Pakistan area. According to the NGO officials, the glaciers here are melting at a faster rate posing a serious threat to the locals living in the area. The cause of glacier-melting is not global warming but the launch of the &quot;Economic corridor&quot; that is being co-developed by Pakistan and China.

The Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan has reportedly been facing several climatic threats since the launch of the CPEC. The multi-billion dollar developmental and infrastructure project is vital to China&#39;s road development plan. &nbsp;

The 3000-km long, 62 billion dollar corridor runs from Kashgar in West China traversing through Pakistan occupied Kashmir, plains and desserts to reach Gwadar, Pakistan on the shores of the Arabian sea.

China is reported to have been building various infrastructure projects including road and railway networks and power plants in Pakistan with over 30,000 Pakistanis employed on various corridor projects.&nbsp;

Pakstan&#39;s Gilgit-Baltistan enjoys high mountainous range, splendid glaciers and magnificent valleys. The region plays an important role in hydro-power generation.&nbsp;

The China-backed project is now raising the possibility of irrecoverable damage to the area as trees are being cut and farmlands are taken over to undertake construction work.&nbsp;

Pakistan needs to work closely with the government of China to ensure that the construction work does not affect the environment or displace the locals.&nbsp;

A WION report

China is reported to have been building various infrastructure projects including road and railway networks and power plants in Pakistan with over 30,000 Pakistanis employed

Although China Pakistan Economic Corridor, CPEC, is being seen by Pakistan as a game changer in terms of development and infrastructure, the highly touted China-backed project could also turn unsustainable. An NGO in Pakistan has declared 36 Glaciers dangerous for the environment in Gilgit Pakistan area. According to the NGO officials, the glaciers here are melting at a faster rate posing a serious threat to the locals living in the area. The cause of glacier-melting is not global warming but the launch of the "Economic corridor" that is being co-developed by Pakistan and China. The Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan has reportedly been facing several climatic threats since the launch of the CPEC. The multi-billion dollar developmental and infrastructure project is vital to China's road development plan. The 3000-km long, 62 billion dollar corridor runs from Kashgar in West China traversing through Pakistan occupied Kashmir, plains and desserts to reach Gwadar, Pakistan on the shores of the Arabian sea. China is reported to have been building various infrastructure projects including road and railway networks and power plants in Pakistan with over 30,000 Pakistanis employed on various corridor projects. Pakstan's Gilgit-Baltistan enjoys high mountainous range, splendid glaciers and magnificent valleys. The region plays an important role in hydro-power generation. The China-backed project is now raising the possibility of irrecoverable damage to the area as trees are being cut and farmlands are taken over to undertake construction work. Pakistan needs to work closely with the government of China to ensure that the construction work does not affect the environment or displace the locals. A WION report

Watch: How China's project is damaging environment in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan

There are different theories about why cows line the streets of Bhavnagar. Some say the cows wander because of old age and a waning ability to produce milk. Another explanation is that the cows are allowed into the streets to find food on their own if the herder cannot afford to feed them. It is a wonder how they are able to find their way back to their respective owners. Still, one way or another, in the early morning, I find fewer cows in the street than mid-day.&nbsp;

People are pretty conscientious about not throwing plastic in street in my neighborhood. Organic kitchen wastes like carrot tops and vegetable peels are scattered on the side of the street near a cow, which immediately trots over to feast. At least once, I have walked home with a bag of vegetables to find a long eyelash-ed visitor slyly trailing behind in hopes of a treat. It is always a pleasure to watch a little calf gobble up a spinach bunch or two. Though the scene is endearing, not everyone is watching what these cows are consuming. Elsewhere in the city, I have seen cows chew through plastics to reach the food wastes within the bag.&nbsp;

Plastics affect the cows&rsquo; ability to produce milk, and they end up on the streets again, this time abandoned by the herder. It is a grim cycle with an economic complication wherein herders lacking funds to feed their animals allow them to be fed by the public. Without their owner&rsquo;s knowledge, the livestock consumes non-biodegradable materials and begin producing less milk. By the time the problem is noticed, it is often too late to resolve it. If the herders can&rsquo;t afford to take them to a veterinarian and the burden to keep feeding them becomes too much, the cow is released into the public.&nbsp;

So what happens when a cow consumes plastic? Since the animal cannot digest it, it accumulates in the stomach, allowing less and less space for real food, leading to starvation. Milk production is affected by toxic chemicals entering the bloodstream from the little plastic that manages to be broken down. NGOs working to fight this environmental disaster have reported finding nearly 100 kgs of plastics in the digestive systems of some cows.&nbsp;

The government of India&rsquo;s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has been imposing stricter guidelines for plastic use for the past few years. There is no national law against the use of plastic bags, but regulations have made it so there are more incentives not to use them. The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 which regulates the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of plastic carry bags prohibited the use of bags made from conventional plastic with a thickness of less than 50 micron.&nbsp;Shopkeepers are not allowed to provide plastic carry bags and are also forbidden from selling plastic trash bags in their shops unless they have registered with their local waste management authority. Upon registration, they are also required to pay a monthly fee of at least 4000 rs and upwards of 8000 rs if they are a larger store. Bigger chain stores have started charging for reusable carry bags in hopes that customers will start bringing their own bags. Like most environmental legislation, the city of Bhavnagar may be experiencing difficulties in enforcing the rules. Nearly every small store I go to offers a thin plastic bag with my purchase and it seems unlikely that the majority of these stores are registered and paying the monthly fee.

On the upside, companies have actively started to look for eco-friendly packaging. Jute, a natural fiber which is endemic to South Asia, is making a comeback. It has been listed as one of the 4 future fibres for sustainable living by the UN&rsquo;s Food and Agriculture Organization. As cash crop for farmers because of its wide variety of uses, jute also enriches the soil for future crops, is biodegradable, and burns clean. A hectare of jute produces 11 tonnes of oxygen for every 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide it consumes. Traditionally, it has been used to package grains, but stores have also used it to create carry bags for their customers. Textile engineers and environmental engineers are currently in the process of increasing its applicability.

In addition to preventing future pollution, India is looking for solutions to manage existing plastic waste. Entrepreneurs and scientists are being encouraged to tackle this problem and being recognized for their innovative solutions. This year, the Padma Shree award, India&rsquo;s highest civilian honor was awarded to Dr. Rajagopalan Vasudevan, a Tamil chemical engineer who patented a method for creating durable, cost-effective rural roads using waste plastics.&nbsp;

Education about the importance of recycling is also gaining momentum. In fact, the city of Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu, is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for holding the world&rsquo;s largest lesson on recycling. In 2015, 12,994 people attended the 55-minute session on how wastes need to be segregated to facilitate processing, composting, and recycling. The training had an&nbsp;impact as evidenced in Madukkarai, a town within the vicinity of Coimbatore. A 60% reduction in landfill waste was seen in 3 years. About 85% of organic waste is converted successfully into vermin compost, which is compost assisted in the breakdown by worms.&nbsp;

Within my own organization,&nbsp;<a href="http://shaishavchildrights.org/">Shaishav</a>, children often discuss environmental preservation. For instance, my first day here, the children were having a debate on what they believed was essential. Several children valued clean water and an unpolluted environment more than money because they recognized that these things were a relatively nonrenewable resource compared to money. Even more, they said that money&rsquo;s utility held no importance but for obtaining things such as a clean environment. I believe this discussion set the standard for what I could expect to see from the children involved in Shaishav!&nbsp;

India is known for its beautiful wildlife and environment. Let&rsquo;s hope its equally famous ingenuity can solve some of the threats that its environment is facing.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

NGOs working to fight this environmental disaster have reported finding nearly 100 kgs of plastics in the digestive systems of some cows.

There are different theories about why cows line the streets of Bhavnagar. Some say the cows wander because of old age and a waning ability to produce milk. Another explanation is that the cows are allowed into the streets to find food on their own if the herder cannot afford to feed them. It is a wonder how they are able to find their way back to their respective owners. Still, one way or another, in the early morning, I find fewer cows in the street than mid-day. People are pretty conscientious about not throwing plastic in street in my neighborhood. Organic kitchen wastes like carrot tops and vegetable peels are scattered on the side of the street near a cow, which immediately trots over to feast. At least once, I have walked home with a bag of vegetables to find a long eyelash-ed visitor slyly trailing behind in hopes of a treat. It is always a pleasure to watch a little calf gobble up a spinach bunch or two. Though the scene is endearing, not everyone is watching what these cows are consuming. Elsewhere in the city, I have seen cows chew through plastics to reach the food wastes within the bag. Plastics affect the cows’ ability to produce milk, and they end up on the streets again, this time abandoned by the herder. It is a grim cycle with an economic complication wherein herders lacking funds to feed their animals allow them to be fed by the public. Without their owner’s knowledge, the livestock consumes non-biodegradable materials and begin producing less milk. By the time the problem is noticed, it is often too late to resolve it. If the herders can’t afford to take them to a veterinarian and the burden to keep feeding them becomes too much, the cow is released into the public. So what happens when a cow consumes plastic? Since the animal cannot digest it, it accumulates in the stomach, allowing less and less space for real food, leading to starvation. Milk production is affected by toxic chemicals entering the bloodstream from the little plastic that manages to be broken down. NGOs working to fight this environmental disaster have reported finding nearly 100 kgs of plastics in the digestive systems of some cows. The government of India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has been imposing stricter guidelines for plastic use for the past few years. There is no national law against the use of plastic bags, but regulations have made it so there are more incentives not to use them. The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 which regulates the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of plastic carry bags prohibited the use of bags made from conventional plastic with a thickness of less than 50 micron. Shopkeepers are not allowed to provide plastic carry bags and are also forbidden from selling plastic trash bags in their shops unless they have registered with their local waste management authority. Upon registration, they are also required to pay a monthly fee of at least 4000 rs and upwards of 8000 rs if they are a larger store. Bigger chain stores have started charging for reusable carry bags in hopes that customers will start bringing their own bags. Like most environmental legislation, the city of Bhavnagar may be experiencing difficulties in enforcing the rules. Nearly every small store I go to offers a thin plastic bag with my purchase and it seems unlikely that the majority of these stores are registered and paying the monthly fee. On the upside, companies have actively started to look for eco-friendly packaging. Jute, a natural fiber which is endemic to South Asia, is making a comeback. It has been listed as one of the 4 future fibres for sustainable living by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. As cash crop for farmers because of its wide variety of uses, jute also enriches the soil for future crops, is biodegradable, and burns clean. A hectare of jute produces 11 tonnes of oxygen for every 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide it consumes. Traditionally, it has been used to package grains, but stores have also used it to create carry bags for their customers. Textile engineers and environmental engineers are currently in the process of increasing its applicability. In addition to preventing future pollution, India is looking for solutions to manage existing plastic waste. Entrepreneurs and scientists are being encouraged to tackle this problem and being recognized for their innovative solutions. This year, the Padma Shree award, India’s highest civilian honor was awarded to Dr. Rajagopalan Vasudevan, a Tamil chemical engineer who patented a method for creating durable, cost-effective rural roads using waste plastics. Education about the importance of recycling is also gaining momentum. In fact, the city of Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu, is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for holding the world’s largest lesson on recycling. In 2015, 12,994 people attended the 55-minute session on how wastes need to be segregated to facilitate processing, composting, and recycling. The training had an impact as evidenced in Madukkarai, a town within the vicinity of Coimbatore. A 60% reduction in landfill waste was seen in 3 years. About 85% of organic waste is converted successfully into vermin compost, which is compost assisted in the breakdown by worms. Within my own organization, Shaishav, children often discuss environmental preservation. For instance, my first day here, the children were having a debate on what they believed was essential. Several children valued clean water and an unpolluted environment more than money because they recognized that these things were a relatively nonrenewable resource compared to money. Even more, they said that money’s utility held no importance but for obtaining things such as a clean environment. I believe this discussion set the standard for what I could expect to see from the children involved in Shaishav! India is known for its beautiful wildlife and environment. Let’s hope its equally famous ingenuity can solve some of the threats that its environment is facing. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: What happens when a cow consumes plastic?

Congress president Rahul Gandhi today flagged off the Vrukshathon, the annual marathon to promote the environment, water and tree conservation, here.

Sporting a yellow T-shirt, hundreds of people from all walks of life descended at the entrance of Gol Gumbaz, a 17th century mausoleum for Sultan Mohammed Adil Shah, the 7th ruler of Adil Shahi dynasty and head of Bijapur sultanate, to take part in the run.

Amid unprecedented security, Gandhi arrived at Gol Gumbaz with water resource minister M B Patil and Congress general secretary and Karnataka in-charge, K C Venugopal, and shook hands with some among the cheering crowd.

After flagging off the marathon, he ran a few metres with the participants.

Gandhi is on a three-day tour of the northern districts of poll-bound Karnataka.

Gandhi is on a three-day tour of the northern districts of poll-bound Karnataka

Congress president Rahul Gandhi today flagged off the Vrukshathon, the annual marathon to promote the environment, water and tree conservation, here. Sporting a yellow T-shirt, hundreds of people from all walks of life descended at the entrance of Gol Gumbaz, a 17th century mausoleum for Sultan Mohammed Adil Shah, the 7th ruler of Adil Shahi dynasty and head of Bijapur sultanate, to take part in the run. Amid unprecedented security, Gandhi arrived at Gol Gumbaz with water resource minister M B Patil and Congress general secretary and Karnataka in-charge, K C Venugopal, and shook hands with some among the cheering crowd. After flagging off the marathon, he ran a few metres with the participants. Gandhi is on a three-day tour of the northern districts of poll-bound Karnataka.

Rahul flags off Vrukshathon in Vijayapura

Indian government and various NGO&rsquo;s have been playing their bit by taking rigorous initiatives like &lsquo;Swachh Bharat Abhiyan&rdquo;, in order to keep the environment clean and healthy. However, it is heart-breaking to see that Indian society is somewhat failing to understand and perform its part.&nbsp; 
 
Keeping the ideology in mind that man is a sensible social being and considering Indians as moralised civilians, the government arranged shoe covers for visitors touring Taj Mahal, so that the dirt of visitors&#39; shoes could be prevented and, thus, the whiteness of the Taj could be well-maintained. Ironically, these shoe covers are littered everywhere or found wafting in the air.&nbsp; 
 
At first, one might see a poised monument of white marble, beautifully embossed with Arabic inscriptions, securing its stature in the list of seven wonders of world. But when looking around the premises, one might lower the eyes and clamp up noticing the place being littered with the piles of plastic water bottles and discarded shoe covers left behind by the people who come down to admire the monument.&nbsp; 
 
Taj looks shabbier with these wandering shoe covers than it would have looked with dirt stains at first. The beauty of the place has deteriorated despite the efforts of keeping rubbish away, bringing disgrace and dishonour to our heritage eventually. Now, the question is who is to be blamed?&nbsp; 
 
A consciousness of basic hygiene, etiquettes and sensibility of our society is yet again questionable whenever I see the dirty walls in our country. Instead of tall standing walls of pride, our walls become the &lsquo;wall of shame&rsquo;. Walls have layers of paan stains and its corners are used as the local urinal. It is absurd to witness red spitting stains and red letters running in bold saying &lsquo;Fine of Rs. 200 for spitting and littering here&rsquo;. 
 
Along with the emotional toll, such discoloured walls bring the dilemma of whether to laugh at these ironic sights or get disheartened.&nbsp; 
 
These experiences bring me back to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.&nbsp; 
Well, we have been talking about the many failures of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan but a deeper analysis is needed into who is to be blamed for the same.&nbsp; 
 
Every individual needs to understand his responsibility of attaining and maintaining the balance in various aspects of our society whether be it health, ecology or heritage. The government of India has taken its step for the conservation of Taj, cleanliness of surrounding and in turn, the protection of its citizens. Now it&rsquo;s the responsibility of us, the Indians, to keep the surrounding clean in order to maintain the ecological balance as well as the esteem of our nation, because if one of them is destroyed, the other is affected.&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

The beauty of Taj has deteriorated despite the efforts of keeping rubbish away, bringing disgrace and dishonour to our heritage eventually.

Indian government and various NGO’s have been playing their bit by taking rigorous initiatives like ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”, in order to keep the environment clean and healthy. However, it is heart-breaking to see that Indian society is somewhat failing to understand and perform its part. Keeping the ideology in mind that man is a sensible social being and considering Indians as moralised civilians, the government arranged shoe covers for visitors touring Taj Mahal, so that the dirt of visitors' shoes could be prevented and, thus, the whiteness of the Taj could be well-maintained. Ironically, these shoe covers are littered everywhere or found wafting in the air. At first, one might see a poised monument of white marble, beautifully embossed with Arabic inscriptions, securing its stature in the list of seven wonders of world. But when looking around the premises, one might lower the eyes and clamp up noticing the place being littered with the piles of plastic water bottles and discarded shoe covers left behind by the people who come down to admire the monument. Taj looks shabbier with these wandering shoe covers than it would have looked with dirt stains at first. The beauty of the place has deteriorated despite the efforts of keeping rubbish away, bringing disgrace and dishonour to our heritage eventually. Now, the question is who is to be blamed? A consciousness of basic hygiene, etiquettes and sensibility of our society is yet again questionable whenever I see the dirty walls in our country. Instead of tall standing walls of pride, our walls become the ‘wall of shame’. Walls have layers of paan stains and its corners are used as the local urinal. It is absurd to witness red spitting stains and red letters running in bold saying ‘Fine of Rs. 200 for spitting and littering here’. Along with the emotional toll, such discoloured walls bring the dilemma of whether to laugh at these ironic sights or get disheartened. These experiences bring me back to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Well, we have been talking about the many failures of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan but a deeper analysis is needed into who is to be blamed for the same. Every individual needs to understand his responsibility of attaining and maintaining the balance in various aspects of our society whether be it health, ecology or heritage. The government of India has taken its step for the conservation of Taj, cleanliness of surrounding and in turn, the protection of its citizens. Now it’s the responsibility of us, the Indians, to keep the surrounding clean in order to maintain the ecological balance as well as the esteem of our nation, because if one of them is destroyed, the other is affected. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: How Taj Mahal is doing under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan?

Technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to help tackle global warming only have limited potential and more effort should be made to reduce emissions, European scientists said in a report on Wednesday.&nbsp;

Proposals to use climate technologies, ranging from spraying sun-dimming chemicals high above the Earth to capturing and storing carbon dioxide underground, have been gaining more attention as the urgency to act on climate change mounts.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, world governments have agreed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels but a large gap remains between countries&#39;&nbsp;emissions plans and the reductions needed.&nbsp;

The European Academies&#39;&nbsp;Science Advisory Council (EASAC), formed from national science academies of EU members, has reviewed scientific evidence about several options for removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere with so-called negative emission technologies.

Examples of such technologies include the direct capture of CO2 and trapping it underground (carbon capture and storage); afforestation and reforestation; land management to increase and fix carbon in soils and ocean fertilisation.

The EASAC, which advises European policymakers, said these technologies have &quot;limited realistic potential to remove carbon from the atmosphere&quot; and not at the scale in some climate forecasts, such as several gigatonnes of carbon each year after 2050.

Their deployment on a large scale would also involve high economic costs and have major impacts on terrestrial or marine ecosystems, the EASAC said in a report.&nbsp;

&quot;Technologies capable of taking out CO2 from the atmosphere are certainly no silver bullet - a point that should drive policymakers to renewed efforts to accelerate emissions reductions,&quot; the report said.

However, the world will need all possible tools to limit warming and some of these technologies can make contributions to remove CO2 from the atmosphere even now, while further research, development and demonstration may allow others to make a limited future contribution,&quot; it added.

Commenting on the report, Andrew Watson, Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Exeter said that while some technologies for removing CO2 from the atmosphere could have a role to play in reducing climate change, all have drawbacks making them difficult to use them on a large scale.&nbsp;

&quot;So our main focus and best hope for avoiding the worst effects of climate change still needs to be reducing our emissions,&quot; he added.

Last week, a leaked draft U.N. report said there is a high chance that the levels of CO2 removal which might be required to meet the Paris goals might not be feasible due to the required scale and speed of technology deployment.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, world governments have agreed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius

Technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to help tackle global warming only have limited potential and more effort should be made to reduce emissions, European scientists said in a report on Wednesday. Proposals to use climate technologies, ranging from spraying sun-dimming chemicals high above the Earth to capturing and storing carbon dioxide underground, have been gaining more attention as the urgency to act on climate change mounts. Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, world governments have agreed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels but a large gap remains between countries' emissions plans and the reductions needed. The European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC), formed from national science academies of EU members, has reviewed scientific evidence about several options for removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere with so-called negative emission technologies. Examples of such technologies include the direct capture of CO2 and trapping it underground (carbon capture and storage); afforestation and reforestation; land management to increase and fix carbon in soils and ocean fertilisation. The EASAC, which advises European policymakers, said these technologies have "limited realistic potential to remove carbon from the atmosphere" and not at the scale in some climate forecasts, such as several gigatonnes of carbon each year after 2050. Their deployment on a large scale would also involve high economic costs and have major impacts on terrestrial or marine ecosystems, the EASAC said in a report. "Technologies capable of taking out CO2 from the atmosphere are certainly no silver bullet - a point that should drive policymakers to renewed efforts to accelerate emissions reductions," the report said. However, the world will need all possible tools to limit warming and some of these technologies can make contributions to remove CO2 from the atmosphere even now, while further research, development and demonstration may allow others to make a limited future contribution," it added. Commenting on the report, Andrew Watson, Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Exeter said that while some technologies for removing CO2 from the atmosphere could have a role to play in reducing climate change, all have drawbacks making them difficult to use them on a large scale. "So our main focus and best hope for avoiding the worst effects of climate change still needs to be reducing our emissions," he added. Last week, a leaked draft U.N. report said there is a high chance that the levels of CO2 removal which might be required to meet the Paris goals might not be feasible due to the required scale and speed of technology deployment.

CO2 removal 'no silver bullet' to fighting climate change: Scientists

The US government announced on Monday the end of protected status for about 200,000 Salvadorans in the country since before 2001, a move that threatens tens of thousands of well-established families with children born in the United States.

Homeland Security Department Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced the end of the 17-year-old &quot;temporary protected status&quot; (TPS) for the Salvadorans, which had shielded them from deportation ever since two major earthquakes rocked El Salvador in early 2001.

They were given 18 months to leave or be deported, enough time that a legislative solution could be crafted by Congress to allow them to stay.

&quot;Only Congress can legislate a permanent solution addressing the lack of an enduring lawful immigration status of those currently protected by TPS who have lived and worked in the United States for many years,&quot; said the DHS.

The move came in the wake of the termination of similar TPS protections for 59,000 longtime resident Haitians and 5,300 Nicaraguans late last year, after having been allowed to set deep roots inside the United States for decades.

They were given 18 months to leave or be deported, enough time that a legislative solution could be crafted by Congress to allow them to stay.

The US government announced on Monday the end of protected status for about 200,000 Salvadorans in the country since before 2001, a move that threatens tens of thousands of well-established families with children born in the United States. Homeland Security Department Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced the end of the 17-year-old "temporary protected status" (TPS) for the Salvadorans, which had shielded them from deportation ever since two major earthquakes rocked El Salvador in early 2001. They were given 18 months to leave or be deported, enough time that a legislative solution could be crafted by Congress to allow them to stay. "Only Congress can legislate a permanent solution addressing the lack of an enduring lawful immigration status of those currently protected by TPS who have lived and worked in the United States for many years," said the DHS. The move came in the wake of the termination of similar TPS protections for 59,000 longtime resident Haitians and 5,300 Nicaraguans late last year, after having been allowed to set deep roots inside the United States for decades.

US ends protected status for 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants

Environment ministers from about 100 countries gather in Nairobi next week to issue a clarion call against air, land and water pollution blamed for some nine million deaths in 2015.

Ministers under the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) will finalise a global declaration vowing to combat &quot;rampant pollution&quot; as a growing threat to human life, economies and ecosystems.

Seven million of those deaths are caused by car exhaust, factory fumes and indoor cooking, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which hosts the assembly.

Water pollution is the second deadliest type, followed by exposure to toxins and carcinogens in the workplace.

Last month, UNEP said approximately one in six deaths in 2015 were due to pollution, mainly in poor and developing countries.

Almost half of the nine-million death toll came from just two countries - rapidly-industrialising India and China.

The December 4-6 meeting will be the third UNEA, created by world leaders in 2012 to strengthen world efforts to save the environment.

The assembly is the highest-level decision-making forum on environmental issues. All 193 UN states are members.

Nearly 2,500 participants have registered for this year&#39;s gathering, including a host of company CEOs, the heads of other UN agencies, scientists and activists.

The ministers will negotiate the wording for a number of resolutions on specific anti-pollution steps, such as limiting the amount of fish-choking plastic that finds its way into the ocean, and banning the use of toxic lead in paint.

&quot;Our oceans are filling with trash so fast that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the seas than fish,&quot; according to a UNEP statement.

&quot;A global ban on lead in paint is one of several resolutions under discussion at UNEA and, if agreed by ministers, will be a key step in removing an environmental hazard that harms the mental development of 600,000 children every year,&quot; it added.

Other resolutions, still in the draft phase, will aim for stricter air quality control in cities, and to reduce environmental degradation caused by armed conflict.

Pollution, according to the UNEP, is &quot;the biggest human killer bar none.&quot;

&quot;We need to beat pollution before it beats us,&quot; said UNEP head Erik Solheim.

&quot;That means being able to breathe in our cities, keeping dangerous chemicals out of the food chain, and stopping our oceans from being transformed into a plastic soup.&quot;

The assembly must yield a political declaration by Wednesday, entitled &quot;Towards a Pollution-Free Planet&quot;.

It will commit UN member countries to limiting humankind&#39;s soiling of the planet with chemicals, non-biodegradable litter and toxic smoke.

&quot;Nine million people die prematurely every year because of environmental intoxication - this is clearly a moral scandal,&quot; said Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

Aside from outright poisoning, pollution causes an array of deadly ailments such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The December 4-6 meeting will be the third UNEA, created by world leaders in 2012 to strengthen world efforts to save the environment

Environment ministers from about 100 countries gather in Nairobi next week to issue a clarion call against air, land and water pollution blamed for some nine million deaths in 2015. Ministers under the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) will finalise a global declaration vowing to combat "rampant pollution" as a growing threat to human life, economies and ecosystems. Seven million of those deaths are caused by car exhaust, factory fumes and indoor cooking, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which hosts the assembly. Water pollution is the second deadliest type, followed by exposure to toxins and carcinogens in the workplace. Last month, UNEP said approximately one in six deaths in 2015 were due to pollution, mainly in poor and developing countries. Almost half of the nine-million death toll came from just two countries - rapidly-industrialising India and China. The December 4-6 meeting will be the third UNEA, created by world leaders in 2012 to strengthen world efforts to save the environment. The assembly is the highest-level decision-making forum on environmental issues. All 193 UN states are members. Nearly 2,500 participants have registered for this year's gathering, including a host of company CEOs, the heads of other UN agencies, scientists and activists. The ministers will negotiate the wording for a number of resolutions on specific anti-pollution steps, such as limiting the amount of fish-choking plastic that finds its way into the ocean, and banning the use of toxic lead in paint. "Our oceans are filling with trash so fast that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the seas than fish," according to a UNEP statement. "A global ban on lead in paint is one of several resolutions under discussion at UNEA and, if agreed by ministers, will be a key step in removing an environmental hazard that harms the mental development of 600,000 children every year," it added. Other resolutions, still in the draft phase, will aim for stricter air quality control in cities, and to reduce environmental degradation caused by armed conflict. Pollution, according to the UNEP, is "the biggest human killer bar none." "We need to beat pollution before it beats us," said UNEP head Erik Solheim. "That means being able to breathe in our cities, keeping dangerous chemicals out of the food chain, and stopping our oceans from being transformed into a plastic soup." The assembly must yield a political declaration by Wednesday, entitled "Towards a Pollution-Free Planet". It will commit UN member countries to limiting humankind's soiling of the planet with chemicals, non-biodegradable litter and toxic smoke. "Nine million people die prematurely every year because of environmental intoxication - this is clearly a moral scandal," said Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Aside from outright poisoning, pollution causes an array of deadly ailments such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

UN makes global bid to end 'rampant' pollution

India&#39;s economic slowdown has bottomed out and now it should start moving upwards after recovering from the &quot;temporary blip&quot; seen during the recent structural changes, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on&nbsp;Thursday.

Addressing investors at the Morgan Stanley annual conference here on &#39;India: Structural Reforms and Growth Path Ahead&#39;, Jaitley talked about the &quot;massive&quot; economic reforms undertaken by India.

He acknowledged that there was a &quot;temporary blip&quot; as a result of structural changes that were initiated by the government.

&quot;I think the bottoming out of the economy is complete and now it should start moving upwards. The global economy is also moving up,&quot; said Jaitly.

As part of the summit, Jaitley met the senior management of Morgan Stanley and addressed a gathering of senior fund managers and key financial institutional investors.

&quot;How do I see the economy moving? our basic parameters are quite stable. And we grew between 7-8 per cent over the last three years,? he said.

&quot;Therefore, we need over the next, at least, a decade, if not more, significantly higher growth rates in order to go ahead with expansion plan of the Indian economy,? Jaitley said.

The finance minister also assured investors of a strong banking sector in India.

&quot;The combination of the IT scheme and now the large-scale recapitalisation we have announced should be put into motion expeditiously,&quot; he said.

The combination of these two steps are likely to improve the capacity of the banks, and even lend their surplus, particularly to the small and medium-scale industries which need those funds in abundance because they are the ones that are the big job creators and keep the Indian economy going, he elaborated.

He also clarified the often over-stated labour issues, saying these were no longer there as the negative environment of disruption of industrial activity is long over.

He said the labour laws are being fortified by taking the unions into consultation, and there has not been any significant labour resistance in recent times, whether it is disinvestment or privatisation, he said.

&quot;We haven?t encountered trade union resistance as that is concerned,&quot; he pointed out, adding that there are already various kinds of reforms.

Responding to questions from investors, he said among the privatisation of public sector units (PSUs), Air India is in a very advanced stage while some of the PSUs will be kept as they are.

The state enterprises in the oil and some in the power sectors will be kept as PSUs.

&quot;But there are many which will be privatised,? he added, pointing to a list prepared by the NITI Aayog.

&quot;In any case, we are going with the divestment programme very actively,? said the minister.

He also gave the investors an update on the ongoing business reforms and called for investments for changing the landscape of India at an accelerated pace.

Jaitley, who is on a two-day visit to Singapore, held meetings with Singapore ministers and investors.&nbsp;

Some northern Chinese cities failed to improve air quality by much last month, hitting the smog-prone region's overall results in a drive against pollution, the government said as it warned provincial officials to comply with stringent steps to clear the skies

India's economic slowdown has bottomed out and now it should start moving upwards after recovering from the "temporary blip" seen during the recent structural changes, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday. Addressing investors at the Morgan Stanley annual conference here on 'India: Structural Reforms and Growth Path Ahead', Jaitley talked about the "massive" economic reforms undertaken by India. He acknowledged that there was a "temporary blip" as a result of structural changes that were initiated by the government. "I think the bottoming out of the economy is complete and now it should start moving upwards. The global economy is also moving up," said Jaitly. As part of the summit, Jaitley met the senior management of Morgan Stanley and addressed a gathering of senior fund managers and key financial institutional investors. "How do I see the economy moving? our basic parameters are quite stable. And we grew between 7-8 per cent over the last three years,? he said. "Therefore, we need over the next, at least, a decade, if not more, significantly higher growth rates in order to go ahead with expansion plan of the Indian economy,? Jaitley said. The finance minister also assured investors of a strong banking sector in India. "The combination of the IT scheme and now the large-scale recapitalisation we have announced should be put into motion expeditiously," he said. The combination of these two steps are likely to improve the capacity of the banks, and even lend their surplus, particularly to the small and medium-scale industries which need those funds in abundance because they are the ones that are the big job creators and keep the Indian economy going, he elaborated. He also clarified the often over-stated labour issues, saying these were no longer there as the negative environment of disruption of industrial activity is long over. He said the labour laws are being fortified by taking the unions into consultation, and there has not been any significant labour resistance in recent times, whether it is disinvestment or privatisation, he said. "We haven?t encountered trade union resistance as that is concerned," he pointed out, adding that there are already various kinds of reforms. Responding to questions from investors, he said among the privatisation of public sector units (PSUs), Air India is in a very advanced stage while some of the PSUs will be kept as they are. The state enterprises in the oil and some in the power sectors will be kept as PSUs. "But there are many which will be privatised,? he added, pointing to a list prepared by the NITI Aayog. "In any case, we are going with the divestment programme very actively,? said the minister. He also gave the investors an update on the ongoing business reforms and called for investments for changing the landscape of India at an accelerated pace. Jaitley, who is on a two-day visit to Singapore, held meetings with Singapore ministers and investors.

China warns northern cities to get serious in war on smog

Almost 200 nations kept a 2015 global agreement to<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/successful-talk-for-india-at-the-bonn-climate-summit-24438"> tackle climate change</a> on track on Saturday after marathon talks overshadowed by US&nbsp;President Donald Trump&#39;s decision to pull out.

Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, presiding at the two-week talks in Bonn, said the outcome &quot;underscores the importance of keeping the momentum and of holding the spirit and vision of our Paris Agreement.&quot;

Delegates agreed to launch a process in 2018 to start reviewing existing plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions as part of a long-term effort to ratchet up ambition. It would be called the &quot;Talanoa Dialogue, after a Fijian word for story-telling and sharing experiences.

And they made progress to draft a detailed rule book for the 2015 Paris agreement, which seeks to end the fossil fuel era this century, at the meeting in Bonn that ran overnight beyond a planned ending on Friday.

The rule book, covering aspects such as how to report and monitor each nation&#39;s greenhouse gas emissions, is due to be ready by December next year.

Many delegates said the work needed to go faster.

&quot;Right now we&#39;re moving at a brisk walk, so all countries will need to really pick up the pace from here,&quot; said Jose Sarney Filho, Brazil&#39;s minister for the environment.

Gebru Jember Endalew of Ethiopia, who leads the group of least developed countries, also said &quot;many areas of work are still lagging behind&quot;, despite steps forward in Bonn.

The Paris pact aims to limit a rise in average world temperatures to &quot;well below&quot; two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, ideally 1.5 (5.4F) to limit more droughts, floods, heatwaves and rising sea levels.

But existing policies are on track to cause a rise of about three degrees (5.4F) by 2100. The Talanoa Dialogue would be a step towards tighter policies.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/global-2-rise-in-co2-giant-leap-backwards-for-humankind-24118">The Bonn meeting</a> was under the shadow of Trump&#39;s decision in June to withdraw from the Paris accord and instead promote the coal and oil industry. Trump doubts that man-made emissions are the prime cause of rising temperatures.

No other nations have followed suit and even nations whose economies depend on fossil fuels have rallied around.

&quot;Everyone got together and said &#39;we have to protect the world. We have to protect the Paris Agreement&#39;. Countries are moving forward,&quot; United Arab Emirates Climate Minister Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi told Reuters.

One senior European diplomat said Trump&#39;s decision had &quot;sedated&quot; the talks into a numbed sense of unity, avoiding major confrontations to underscore that the main faultline on policy was between Trump and the rest of the world.

Washington retains its place in the talks for now because the Paris pact stipulates that no country can formally pull out before November 2020.

The fossil fuel industry was very much under the spotlight during the talks. The US&nbsp;administration&#39;s only event in Bonn was to promote coal, which jarred with many other nations who wanted talks to focus on renewable energies.

In seeming defiance, 20 countries and two U.S. states joined an international alliance to phase out coal from power generation before 2030.

Environmental groups said the outcome in Bonn was a step in the right direction, but many issues needed to be resolved over the next year, including financial support for developing nations who want to cut emissions and for adaptation.

Almost 200 nations kept a 2015 global agreement to tackle climate change on track on Saturday after marathon talks overshadowed by US?President Donald Trump's decision to pull out

Almost 200 nations kept a 2015 global agreement to tackle climate change on track on Saturday after marathon talks overshadowed by US President Donald Trump's decision to pull out. Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, presiding at the two-week talks in Bonn, said the outcome "underscores the importance of keeping the momentum and of holding the spirit and vision of our Paris Agreement." Delegates agreed to launch a process in 2018 to start reviewing existing plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions as part of a long-term effort to ratchet up ambition. It would be called the "Talanoa Dialogue, after a Fijian word for story-telling and sharing experiences. And they made progress to draft a detailed rule book for the 2015 Paris agreement, which seeks to end the fossil fuel era this century, at the meeting in Bonn that ran overnight beyond a planned ending on Friday. The rule book, covering aspects such as how to report and monitor each nation's greenhouse gas emissions, is due to be ready by December next year. Many delegates said the work needed to go faster. "Right now we're moving at a brisk walk, so all countries will need to really pick up the pace from here," said Jose Sarney Filho, Brazil's minister for the environment. Gebru Jember Endalew of Ethiopia, who leads the group of least developed countries, also said "many areas of work are still lagging behind", despite steps forward in Bonn. The Paris pact aims to limit a rise in average world temperatures to "well below" two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, ideally 1.5 (5.4F) to limit more droughts, floods, heatwaves and rising sea levels. But existing policies are on track to cause a rise of about three degrees (5.4F) by 2100. The Talanoa Dialogue would be a step towards tighter policies. The Bonn meeting was under the shadow of Trump's decision in June to withdraw from the Paris accord and instead promote the coal and oil industry. Trump doubts that man-made emissions are the prime cause of rising temperatures. No other nations have followed suit and even nations whose economies depend on fossil fuels have rallied around. "Everyone got together and said 'we have to protect the world. We have to protect the Paris Agreement'. Countries are moving forward," United Arab Emirates Climate Minister Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi told Reuters. One senior European diplomat said Trump's decision had "sedated" the talks into a numbed sense of unity, avoiding major confrontations to underscore that the main faultline on policy was between Trump and the rest of the world. Washington retains its place in the talks for now because the Paris pact stipulates that no country can formally pull out before November 2020. The fossil fuel industry was very much under the spotlight during the talks. The US administration's only event in Bonn was to promote coal, which jarred with many other nations who wanted talks to focus on renewable energies. In seeming defiance, 20 countries and two U.S. states joined an international alliance to phase out coal from power generation before 2030. Environmental groups said the outcome in Bonn was a step in the right direction, but many issues needed to be resolved over the next year, including financial support for developing nations who want to cut emissions and for adaptation.

Governments keep global climate deal on track despite US pullout

The National Green Tribunal today refused to exempt women and two-wheelers from the Delhi government&#39;s odd-even car rationing scheme and directed it to ensure that over 10-year-old diesel vehicles be taken off the roads without delay. 
The tribunal, which expressed concern over the high pollution level which was an &quot;environmental and health emergency&quot;, said the city should &quot;not gift infected lungs to its children.&quot;A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar also asked the Aam Aadmi Party government here to identify the most polluted areas today itself and sprinkle water from high rise buildings.

The bench, however, allowed non-polluting industries who manufacture essential goods to operate.During the hearing, the NGT also asked what the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh doing other than blaming each other. &quot;What are UP, Haryana, and Punjab doing? All of you are just blaming each other. You cannot just shift blame,&quot; it said.The Delhi government withdrew its plea as the NGT was not convinced with its submission that the city did not have adequate public transport to cater to over 25 lakh commuters.

&nbsp;&quot;Delhi government wishes to withdraw its application filed for modification of our order. They have the liberty to file a fresh plea. The application is disposed of,&quot; the bench said. 
The Delhi government had yesterday moved an application before the bench seeking modification of its November 11 order allowing odd-even scheme without exemptions.

Regarding functioning of industries in the National Capital Region (NCR), the bench said: &quot;we clarify that industries manufacturing essential commodities like eatables have been exempted from the prohibiting orders of the NGT.&quot;We also direct that the industries whose emissions are within the prescribed parameters and which are non-polluting and compliant to the directions can operate subject to verification.&quot;

It also allowed the construction work of the Eastern Peripheral Expressway in the NCR, which will bypass Delhi on the eastern side, subject to an assurance by the senior-most officer of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) that no pollution would be caused. 
The tribunal noted that as per reports of the pollution control committees, two-wheelers caused greater pollution, and according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), approximately 30 percent pollution was caused by them.

&quot;If you permit 68 lakh two-wheelers to ply, what will be the extent of the pollution? You said thousands of buses were ordered but have not got a single bus yet. You wait for a crisis,&quot; the bench said. 
Expressing anguish over the plea seeking permission to exempt women drivers from the odd-even scheme, the NGT asked &quot;are you (Delhi government) not responsible for the safety of ladies who do not have cars and travel by metros and buses on a daily basis? Why can&#39;t you have a special ladies buses?&quot; 
Noting that particulate matter (PM) 10 was higher than 900, it said, &quot;You (Delhi government) are sprinkling water in trees. What you are supposed to do is to climb a multi-storeyed building and sprinkle water using fire equipment.&quot;

The bench, in the meanwhile, directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests, GNCT of Delhi, Transport department and pollution control boards to coordinate with each other in order to control pollutants in the air and take steps in accordance with its orders. 
The NGT had on November 11 given a conditional nod to the AAP government&#39;s decision to implement the odd-even scheme for five days from November 13, ordering that no exemption should be allowed to &quot;any person or officer and two-wheelers&quot;.

The government had then scrapped its plan to implement the odd-even vehicle rationing scheme after NGT said there will be no exemption for women, two-wheelers, and government servants. 
The NGT had said the odd-even scheme should be implemented &quot;without any default&quot; as and when the PM10 level goes above 500 microgrammes per cubic meter and PM 2.5 level crosses the limit of 300 microgrammes per cubic meter during a span of 48 hours.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Tribunal expressed its concern over the high pollution level which was an 'environmental and health emergency', said the city should 'not gift infected lungs to its children'

The National Green Tribunal today refused to exempt women and two-wheelers from the Delhi government's odd-even car rationing scheme and directed it to ensure that over 10-year-old diesel vehicles be taken off the roads without delay. The tribunal, which expressed concern over the high pollution level which was an "environmental and health emergency", said the city should "not gift infected lungs to its children."A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar also asked the Aam Aadmi Party government here to identify the most polluted areas today itself and sprinkle water from high rise buildings. The bench, however, allowed non-polluting industries who manufacture essential goods to operate.During the hearing, the NGT also asked what the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh doing other than blaming each other. "What are UP, Haryana, and Punjab doing? All of you are just blaming each other. You cannot just shift blame," it said.The Delhi government withdrew its plea as the NGT was not convinced with its submission that the city did not have adequate public transport to cater to over 25 lakh commuters. "Delhi government wishes to withdraw its application filed for modification of our order. They have the liberty to file a fresh plea. The application is disposed of," the bench said. The Delhi government had yesterday moved an application before the bench seeking modification of its November 11 order allowing odd-even scheme without exemptions. Regarding functioning of industries in the National Capital Region (NCR), the bench said: "we clarify that industries manufacturing essential commodities like eatables have been exempted from the prohibiting orders of the NGT."We also direct that the industries whose emissions are within the prescribed parameters and which are non-polluting and compliant to the directions can operate subject to verification." It also allowed the construction work of the Eastern Peripheral Expressway in the NCR, which will bypass Delhi on the eastern side, subject to an assurance by the senior-most officer of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) that no pollution would be caused. The tribunal noted that as per reports of the pollution control committees, two-wheelers caused greater pollution, and according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), approximately 30 percent pollution was caused by them. "If you permit 68 lakh two-wheelers to ply, what will be the extent of the pollution? You said thousands of buses were ordered but have not got a single bus yet. You wait for a crisis," the bench said. Expressing anguish over the plea seeking permission to exempt women drivers from the odd-even scheme, the NGT asked "are you (Delhi government) not responsible for the safety of ladies who do not have cars and travel by metros and buses on a daily basis? Why can't you have a special ladies buses?" Noting that particulate matter (PM) 10 was higher than 900, it said, "You (Delhi government) are sprinkling water in trees. What you are supposed to do is to climb a multi-storeyed building and sprinkle water using fire equipment." The bench, in the meanwhile, directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests, GNCT of Delhi, Transport department and pollution control boards to coordinate with each other in order to control pollutants in the air and take steps in accordance with its orders. The NGT had on November 11 given a conditional nod to the AAP government's decision to implement the odd-even scheme for five days from November 13, ordering that no exemption should be allowed to "any person or officer and two-wheelers". The government had then scrapped its plan to implement the odd-even vehicle rationing scheme after NGT said there will be no exemption for women, two-wheelers, and government servants. The NGT had said the odd-even scheme should be implemented "without any default" as and when the PM10 level goes above 500 microgrammes per cubic meter and PM 2.5 level crosses the limit of 300 microgrammes per cubic meter during a span of 48 hours.

NGT refuses to exempt women, two-wheelers from odd-even scheme

&nbsp;

Environmentalists have long been worried about melting glaciers in the Himalayas. Studies and articles on the matter often border on the extreme. Some seek to reassure people that it is not a big deal, while others paint doomsday scenarios. But while global warming is a reality, available facts and figures are not enough to ascertain exactly how frozen surfaces in the region are melting or what its impact is on the environment, vegetation or animal life.&nbsp;

The Himalayan range and its extension in the northwest are home to more than 50,000 glaciers. Only the polar circles have more. Approximately 60,000 square kilometres of ice are stored along the Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalaya mountain ranges. But despite the huge dimensions, these frozen masses do not last for ever and have retreated in the last few decades. Glaciers are fragile. After all, they consist of nothing but ice.

Global warming has led to the Himalayan range witnessing less snowfall, more rains and hotter summers. Glaciers erode and become shorter and thinner every year, a loss that is impossible to recover as long as the mercury continues to rise.

Fieldwork is a major problem here. Many of the glaciers are located in isolated high mountain areas and reaching these places with necessary equipment involves a lot of time and money. In some areas of Afghanistan, it is also a matter of safety. Data are fragmented and it is impossible to have a precise overall picture.

Some glaciers have visibly receded, like the Gangotri, in India, where the Ganges has its headwaters. From 2000 onwards, it has been receding to the tune of 12 metres every year. It has already lost nearly 200 metres of its length.

But not all South Asian glaciers are melting though. The process seems to have been reversed in the Karakoram range, along the border between Pakistan, India and China. The monsoon reaches this region in winter and the precipitation freezes thanks to severe temperatures.&nbsp;

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<h5>When it comes to South Asian glaciers, one of the chief factors contributing towards their melting is dust. A part of it comes from forest fires, cooking fires, agricultural and industrial burn wastes.</h5>
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&nbsp;

It is not good news though and it does not balance the loss. &quot;It is more of a unique phenomenon. There are very few other places in the world where this is happening,&quot; says Sarah Kapnick, a physical scientist at Princeton University who studies the area closely. &quot;We can create a hypothesis that may be valid for the next hundred years. It is impossible to know what could happen after that. And this does not mean that it is not getting warmer up there. It sounds counterintuitive. But more snow means more precipitation which is another effect of rising temperatures,&quot; the scientist tells WION.

It is almost unanimously recognised that global warming is a human-induced phenomenon, mostly caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases. But when it comes to South Asian glaciers, one of the chief factors contributing towards their melting is dust. A part of it comes from forest fires, cooking fires, agricultural and industrial burn wastes. Particles get deposited on the frozen surface, absorb the sun light, warm up and create holes, pretty much what happens when a firebrand is placed on an ice cube. Through these holes, solar heat gets the chance to penetrate deep in. The melting gathers speed.

It is a classic domino effect example, a chain reaction. More dust means more heat, more heat more holes, more holes more heat.

Most of this dust has natural origins: it comes from the Asian Brown Cloud (ABC), a recurring layer of pollution partially covering South Asian skies.

&quot;Poor quality petrol combustion also contributes to this cloud but it is mainly composed of natural dust coming from Rajasthan and other dry places in India and Pakistan which gets blown by the wind,&quot; says Dipak Gyawali, director of Nepal Water Conservation Foundation (NWCF) and a former Nepalese minister for water resources. &quot;There is not much that we can do about the natural part of it. We can surely work on cutting down on the use of poor quality petrol and coal to reduce the damage,&quot; he adds.

Glaciers are, above all, storage systems. They thicken with winter snowfalls and release water when the summer comes. &quot;Most of the high altitude settlements rely on spring sources for their water. This is true for Nepal. The shrinking of glaciers will not cause them problems. It will mostly affect low altitude areas, reducing the flow of rivers during dry seasons,&quot; the director of NWCF puts the elements into perspective.

Monsoons remain the principal source of fresh water in South Asia but the flows of some of the biggest rivers in the region depend on ice melt. The Indus in Pakistan, for example, relies on glaciers for up to forty per cent of its flow. But a dense network of minor rivers and major ones across the Indo-Gangetic plain mitigates the reduction in ice melt. The network continues to support agriculture and ensures the survival of hundreds of millions of lives.

Rice is the main agricultural product of the region and it is a water-intensive crop. According to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), paddy grows on 60 million hectares of land in South Asia. Accounting for more than a quarter of the global production, Bangladesh and India take the lead. Any change in the rivers&rsquo; flows will have a severe impact.

&nbsp;

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Sifting through the jungle of articles, videos and infographics on the matter, one encounters contradictory figures. One moment, it seems that South Asian glaciers will disappear in two decades and there will be huge floods followed by terrible droughts. The next moment, one encounters data that points to their good health. This is confusing and undermines the credibility of the scientific community.

&quot;See, glaciers are a hot topic. There is too much hype. For instance, you say that if glaciers melt, Bangladesh will be completely flooded. You immediately grab eyeballs. But it is scientific nonsense. You are saying a wrong thing. Floods occur because of massive monsoon rains and the problem is that no one can ever predict the right amount of precipitation. Water warming is a much bigger problem and nobody is talking about it,&quot; comments Dipak Gyawali.

&quot;It is always difficult to speak about environmental problems with a non-specialist. It is also challenging because what will happen in the future is pretty much uncertain. Climatic conditions change in decades and some of these are natural. As scientists, we are not always good at explaining this to common people,&quot; opines Sarak Kapnick.

A balanced narrative will improve general awareness about the negative effects of global warming. Water, in all its forms, is a basic need of any ecosystem and its preservation is a priority. It is the common interest of the world.

South Asian rivers are also an important source of clean energy. Some countries base their energy provision on hydropower. It powers more than sixty per cent households in Bhutan.

A decline in river flow leads to a decrease of potential energy. In a developing region like South Asia, this may also have political ramifications. It may force countries to further tighten their borders. A run for energy in such a scenario will affect peaceful and constructive coexistence.

But global warming also presents a unique opportunity for South Asian governments to come together to battle the problem. They can coordinate their actions and benefit from each other&rsquo;s respective strengths. Rivers and glaciers are often shared between neighbouring countries and change in one place will affect people in another. Any negative changing will affect all their populations. Pakistan, for instance, can face water and hydropower shortage if Indian glaciers melt too fast. The necessity of a common strategy to preserve water sources may become a way to mend poor diplomatic relations between some South Asian countries. In case they succeed, the region can gain a global leadership role in environmental protection. It is a chance not to be underestimated and a cause not worth neglecting.

The impact of global warming presents South Asian countries with a unique chance to unite

Environmentalists have long been worried about melting glaciers in the Himalayas. Studies and articles on the matter often border on the extreme. Some seek to reassure people that it is not a big deal, while others paint doomsday scenarios. But while global warming is a reality, available facts and figures are not enough to ascertain exactly how frozen surfaces in the region are melting or what its impact is on the environment, vegetation or animal life. The Himalayan range and its extension in the northwest are home to more than 50,000 glaciers. Only the polar circles have more. Approximately 60,000 square kilometres of ice are stored along the Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalaya mountain ranges. But despite the huge dimensions, these frozen masses do not last for ever and have retreated in the last few decades. Glaciers are fragile. After all, they consist of nothing but ice. Global warming has led to the Himalayan range witnessing less snowfall, more rains and hotter summers. Glaciers erode and become shorter and thinner every year, a loss that is impossible to recover as long as the mercury continues to rise. Fieldwork is a major problem here. Many of the glaciers are located in isolated high mountain areas and reaching these places with necessary equipment involves a lot of time and money. In some areas of Afghanistan, it is also a matter of safety. Data are fragmented and it is impossible to have a precise overall picture. Some glaciers have visibly receded, like the Gangotri, in India, where the Ganges has its headwaters. From 2000 onwards, it has been receding to the tune of 12 metres every year. It has already lost nearly 200 metres of its length. But not all South Asian glaciers are melting though. The process seems to have been reversed in the Karakoram range, along the border between Pakistan, India and China. The monsoon reaches this region in winter and the precipitation freezes thanks to severe temperatures. When it comes to South Asian glaciers, one of the chief factors contributing towards their melting is dust. A part of it comes from forest fires, cooking fires, agricultural and industrial burn wastes. × It is not good news though and it does not balance the loss. "It is more of a unique phenomenon. There are very few other places in the world where this is happening," says Sarah Kapnick, a physical scientist at Princeton University who studies the area closely. "We can create a hypothesis that may be valid for the next hundred years. It is impossible to know what could happen after that. And this does not mean that it is not getting warmer up there. It sounds counterintuitive. But more snow means more precipitation which is another effect of rising temperatures," the scientist tells WION. It is almost unanimously recognised that global warming is a human-induced phenomenon, mostly caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases. But when it comes to South Asian glaciers, one of the chief factors contributing towards their melting is dust. A part of it comes from forest fires, cooking fires, agricultural and industrial burn wastes. Particles get deposited on the frozen surface, absorb the sun light, warm up and create holes, pretty much what happens when a firebrand is placed on an ice cube. Through these holes, solar heat gets the chance to penetrate deep in. The melting gathers speed. It is a classic domino effect example, a chain reaction. More dust means more heat, more heat more holes, more holes more heat. Most of this dust has natural origins: it comes from the Asian Brown Cloud (ABC), a recurring layer of pollution partially covering South Asian skies. "Poor quality petrol combustion also contributes to this cloud but it is mainly composed of natural dust coming from Rajasthan and other dry places in India and Pakistan which gets blown by the wind," says Dipak Gyawali, director of Nepal Water Conservation Foundation (NWCF) and a former Nepalese minister for water resources. "There is not much that we can do about the natural part of it. We can surely work on cutting down on the use of poor quality petrol and coal to reduce the damage," he adds. Glaciers are, above all, storage systems. They thicken with winter snowfalls and release water when the summer comes. "Most of the high altitude settlements rely on spring sources for their water. This is true for Nepal. The shrinking of glaciers will not cause them problems. It will mostly affect low altitude areas, reducing the flow of rivers during dry seasons," the director of NWCF puts the elements into perspective. Monsoons remain the principal source of fresh water in South Asia but the flows of some of the biggest rivers in the region depend on ice melt. The Indus in Pakistan, for example, relies on glaciers for up to forty per cent of its flow. But a dense network of minor rivers and major ones across the Indo-Gangetic plain mitigates the reduction in ice melt. The network continues to support agriculture and ensures the survival of hundreds of millions of lives. Rice is the main agricultural product of the region and it is a water-intensive crop. According to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), paddy grows on 60 million hectares of land in South Asia. Accounting for more than a quarter of the global production, Bangladesh and India take the lead. Any change in the rivers’ flows will have a severe impact. Glaciers are a hot topic. There is too much hype. For instance, you say that if glaciers melt, Bangladesh will be completely flooded. You immediately grab eyeballs. But it is scientific nonsense. × Sifting through the jungle of articles, videos and infographics on the matter, one encounters contradictory figures. One moment, it seems that South Asian glaciers will disappear in two decades and there will be huge floods followed by terrible droughts. The next moment, one encounters data that points to their good health. This is confusing and undermines the credibility of the scientific community. "See, glaciers are a hot topic. There is too much hype. For instance, you say that if glaciers melt, Bangladesh will be completely flooded. You immediately grab eyeballs. But it is scientific nonsense. You are saying a wrong thing. Floods occur because of massive monsoon rains and the problem is that no one can ever predict the right amount of precipitation. Water warming is a much bigger problem and nobody is talking about it," comments Dipak Gyawali. "It is always difficult to speak about environmental problems with a non-specialist. It is also challenging because what will happen in the future is pretty much uncertain. Climatic conditions change in decades and some of these are natural. As scientists, we are not always good at explaining this to common people," opines Sarak Kapnick. A balanced narrative will improve general awareness about the negative effects of global warming. Water, in all its forms, is a basic need of any ecosystem and its preservation is a priority. It is the common interest of the world. South Asian rivers are also an important source of clean energy. Some countries base their energy provision on hydropower. It powers more than sixty per cent households in Bhutan. A decline in river flow leads to a decrease of potential energy. In a developing region like South Asia, this may also have political ramifications. It may force countries to further tighten their borders. A run for energy in such a scenario will affect peaceful and constructive coexistence. But global warming also presents a unique opportunity for South Asian governments to come together to battle the problem. They can coordinate their actions and benefit from each other’s respective strengths. Rivers and glaciers are often shared between neighbouring countries and change in one place will affect people in another. Any negative changing will affect all their populations. Pakistan, for instance, can face water and hydropower shortage if Indian glaciers melt too fast. The necessity of a common strategy to preserve water sources may become a way to mend poor diplomatic relations between some South Asian countries. In case they succeed, the region can gain a global leadership role in environmental protection. It is a chance not to be underestimated and a cause not worth neglecting.

Is it bad news for the Himalayan glaciers?

By:&nbsp;James Douglas Langston

Deforestation has historically been the price of development, but the world is now going through a forest transition; since 2015, there has been net global reforestation.

The pace and quality of this transition is mixed. In the world&rsquo;s remaining high conservation-value forests, deforestation rates are high and poverty persists but development opportunities are within sight.

These forests are mainly located in the tropical developing world and have growing human populations. Because as forest-dependent people are increasingly involved in cash economies , they use their forests to participate in markets. This will inevitably lead to changes in forests.

But can these transitions be nurtured so that future forest landscapes deliver the biodiversity and ecosystem benefits that societies need or desire?

Human interference

It&rsquo;s not that the world&rsquo;s remaining forests are pristine and untouched. Humans have shaped and domesticated the remote Amazonian and Bornean and Congo Basin forests for millennia; all forests are the result of human actions.

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<h5>Humans have shaped and domesticated the remote Amazonian and Bornean and Congo Basin forests for millennia; all forests are the result of human actions</h5>
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But as development pressures and the rate of globalisation increase, and as market and cash economies spread, changes in forests are intensifying. Forest clearance and disturbance has seen biodiversity decline and ecosystems suffer.

Conservationists typically respond to this in one of two ways. They either tackle the threat head on and try to counter it (classic threat-based conservation). Or they hand over forest management to local people (community-based forestry).

This latter is a recent popular trend and it&rsquo;s based on the assumption that locals will take care of biodiversity.

But neither threat-based conservation nor local management has proven successful for preserving forests. Tropical forests are still subject to high deforestation rates in less developed countries and conservationists lament the ongoing decline in biodiversity and ecosystems.

These forests are home to many thousands of people, who often have few economic opportunities. What is their future; what will happen to their forests; and where do they fit in future strategies for conservation?

Romance vs making a living

Some conservationists assume that forests will be preserved by forest-dependent people because they&rsquo;re content with their &ldquo;traditional lifestyles&rdquo;, disconnected from cash economies and living in romanticised sustainable communities.

And rights groups point out that people living in forests often have insecure land rights, lack freedoms and power, and are victims of land grabs by companies and governments. They say fixing these requires handing forests completely over to local communities.

Under the influence of their assumptions, rights-based and conservation groups both argue &ndash; perhaps implicitly &ndash; that communities, given the opportunity, will manage forests in a sustainable way.

Recently, even &ldquo;green-black&rdquo; alliances, where conservation groups and Indigenous rights groups collaborate over shared goals, have been shown to be problematic. Indigenous groups and local communities may not manage their forests to conserve biodiversity or, for that matter, the climate change mitigation values of the forests.

In spite of the lack of evidence that local management will lead to conservation, development organisations, NGOs and governments have mobilised vast sums of money to turn the management of lands over to local people.

But a slew of recent articles explains why local management is not a panacea.

&nbsp;

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Communities and indigenous people would, of course, like to see forests, nature and biodiversity - and in abundance. But their priority, like that of most people, is improving their own well-being and that of their children. This means making choices.

Data from Indonesia, the Congo Basin and Brazil show that, in general, forests managed by local people will only deliver benefits when this doesn&rsquo;t conflict with short-term economic interests.

Realistic forest futures

To local people, tackling threats to forests is seen as opposing development and will continue to fail. Opposing new roads in areas where people are deprived of development opportunities, for instance, is clearly not a viable way forward.

&nbsp;

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&nbsp;

But the alternative strategy of handing management over to local people in the hope that they will protect biodiversity is also not realistic. If the only options on offer are forest protection or development at their expense (plantations, for instance, or mines and agriculture) then most people will, naturally, choose the latter.

Where governance is weak and people are poor, forests will not survive unless conservation engages with the process of development, rather than opposes it.

Current efforts, then, can be seen as seeking to conserve the forests of the past. But what we need is to transition to future forested landscapes that will meet the needs of the 9.5 billion resource-hungry people expected to populate the world by 2050, as well as conserve biodiversity and ecosystem processes.

The binary approach of integration or segregation is thus misleading. Strictly protected areas are essential but they will have to be part of a matrix of landscape components that provide for increased prosperity and sustainability.

A balance between conservation and development can only be struck at a landscape &ndash; or seascape &ndash; level. This approach brings together stakeholders and aims to balance the multiple &ndash; and sometimes conflicting &ndash; objectives in a landscape or seascape.

It&rsquo;s mindful that local peoples&rsquo; needs and aspirations change with time. People living near forests will say their preferred future includes the continued existence of forests and therefore, biodiversity and intact ecosystems. The challenge is to achieve this alongside improvements in livelihoods.

Blueprints and roadmaps are useless, then, unless they reflect and satisfy local development needs. Continual learning and adaptation is needed to work with changing priorities on both the local and global scales.

Only once local management coalitions explicitly acknowledge trade-offs, when winners and losers are clearly identified prior to any intervention, and local peoples share a commonly agreed path to their future, can we better nurture forests. 
&nbsp;

James Douglas Langston is a PhD Candidate and Demonstrator in the Development Practice Programme at&nbsp;James Cook University.

Continual learning and adaptation is needed to work with changing priorities on both the local and global scales

By: James Douglas Langston Deforestation has historically been the price of development, but the world is now going through a forest transition; since 2015, there has been net global reforestation. The pace and quality of this transition is mixed. In the world’s remaining high conservation-value forests, deforestation rates are high and poverty persists but development opportunities are within sight. These forests are mainly located in the tropical developing world and have growing human populations. Because as forest-dependent people are increasingly involved in cash economies , they use their forests to participate in markets. This will inevitably lead to changes in forests. But can these transitions be nurtured so that future forest landscapes deliver the biodiversity and ecosystem benefits that societies need or desire? Human interference It’s not that the world’s remaining forests are pristine and untouched. Humans have shaped and domesticated the remote Amazonian and Bornean and Congo Basin forests for millennia; all forests are the result of human actions. Humans have shaped and domesticated the remote Amazonian and Bornean and Congo Basin forests for millennia; all forests are the result of human actions × But as development pressures and the rate of globalisation increase, and as market and cash economies spread, changes in forests are intensifying. Forest clearance and disturbance has seen biodiversity decline and ecosystems suffer. Conservationists typically respond to this in one of two ways. They either tackle the threat head on and try to counter it (classic threat-based conservation). Or they hand over forest management to local people (community-based forestry). This latter is a recent popular trend and it’s based on the assumption that locals will take care of biodiversity. But neither threat-based conservation nor local management has proven successful for preserving forests. Tropical forests are still subject to high deforestation rates in less developed countries and conservationists lament the ongoing decline in biodiversity and ecosystems. These forests are home to many thousands of people, who often have few economic opportunities. What is their future; what will happen to their forests; and where do they fit in future strategies for conservation? Romance vs making a living Some conservationists assume that forests will be preserved by forest-dependent people because they’re content with their “traditional lifestyles”, disconnected from cash economies and living in romanticised sustainable communities. And rights groups point out that people living in forests often have insecure land rights, lack freedoms and power, and are victims of land grabs by companies and governments. They say fixing these requires handing forests completely over to local communities. Under the influence of their assumptions, rights-based and conservation groups both argue – perhaps implicitly – that communities, given the opportunity, will manage forests in a sustainable way. Recently, even “green-black” alliances, where conservation groups and Indigenous rights groups collaborate over shared goals, have been shown to be problematic. Indigenous groups and local communities may not manage their forests to conserve biodiversity or, for that matter, the climate change mitigation values of the forests. In spite of the lack of evidence that local management will lead to conservation, development organisations, NGOs and governments have mobilised vast sums of money to turn the management of lands over to local people. But a slew of recent articles explains why local management is not a panacea. In general, forests managed by local people will only deliver benefits when this doesn’t conflict with short-term economic interests × Communities and indigenous people would, of course, like to see forests, nature and biodiversity - and in abundance. But their priority, like that of most people, is improving their own well-being and that of their children. This means making choices. Data from Indonesia, the Congo Basin and Brazil show that, in general, forests managed by local people will only deliver benefits when this doesn’t conflict with short-term economic interests. Realistic forest futures To local people, tackling threats to forests is seen as opposing development and will continue to fail. Opposing new roads in areas where people are deprived of development opportunities, for instance, is clearly not a viable way forward. Where governance is weak and people are poor, forests will not survive unless conservation engages with the process of development, rather than opposes it × But the alternative strategy of handing management over to local people in the hope that they will protect biodiversity is also not realistic. If the only options on offer are forest protection or development at their expense (plantations, for instance, or mines and agriculture) then most people will, naturally, choose the latter. Where governance is weak and people are poor, forests will not survive unless conservation engages with the process of development, rather than opposes it. Current efforts, then, can be seen as seeking to conserve the forests of the past. But what we need is to transition to future forested landscapes that will meet the needs of the 9.5 billion resource-hungry people expected to populate the world by 2050, as well as conserve biodiversity and ecosystem processes. The binary approach of integration or segregation is thus misleading. Strictly protected areas are essential but they will have to be part of a matrix of landscape components that provide for increased prosperity and sustainability. A balance between conservation and development can only be struck at a landscape – or seascape – level. This approach brings together stakeholders and aims to balance the multiple – and sometimes conflicting – objectives in a landscape or seascape. It’s mindful that local peoples’ needs and aspirations change with time. People living near forests will say their preferred future includes the continued existence of forests and therefore, biodiversity and intact ecosystems. The challenge is to achieve this alongside improvements in livelihoods. Blueprints and roadmaps are useless, then, unless they reflect and satisfy local development needs. Continual learning and adaptation is needed to work with changing priorities on both the local and global scales. Only once local management coalitions explicitly acknowledge trade-offs, when winners and losers are clearly identified prior to any intervention, and local peoples share a commonly agreed path to their future, can we better nurture forests. James Douglas Langston is a PhD Candidate and Demonstrator in the Development Practice Programme at James Cook University.

To conserve forests, we need to think beyond current ideas of integration or segregation

The World Bank adopted a new set of policies on Thursday that aim to expand protections for people and the environment in projects financed by the bank while making it easier for borrowers to comply with its standards. 
 
The global lender dedicated to fighting poverty, whose commitments rose to more than $60 billion this year, said the new environmental and social framework had involved the &quot;most extensive consultation ever conducted&quot; by the bank. 
 
&quot;These new safeguards will build into our projects updated and improved protections for the most vulnerable people in the world and our environment,&quot; World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement. 
 
The Bank last year acknowledged that its projects had sometimes resulted in forced population displacements. World Bank projects in regions around the world have been accused of underwriting human rights abuses. 
 
But the first major update to the World Bank&#39;s safeguard policies in nearly 20 years has drawn fire from some non-profit groups for creating &quot;loopholes&quot; with more vague language and more reliance on borrower country laws and standards. 
 
&quot;The bank has effectively dismantled thirty years of environmental and social protections for the world&rsquo;s most impoverished and vulnerable peoples,&quot; said Stephanie Fried, executive director of the Ulu Foundation, a non-profit group focussed on forest preservation. 
 
The new rules are to take effect in 2018 and will require client states to conduct a &quot;broadened social assessment and management of environmental and social risks,&quot; to guarantee labour rights and prohibit any form of forced labour. 
 
Projects will have to reduce environmental harm and avoid large-scale population displacements, according to the new policy. 
 
Kim told reporters on a conference call that one key example of the changes will be increased protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. The bank pulled out of a $90 million loan to Uganda&#39;s health system in 2014 after the government passed a law that imposed life sentences for certain homosexual activities and made it a crime not to report violations. 
 
Kim said the World Bank had committed increased funding to work with its 189 member countries to lift their own environmental and human rights safeguards to match those of the Washington-based development lender. 
 
While welcoming some improvements, Nadia Daar, head of the Washington office at Oxfam International, said in a statement that her organization was &quot;frustrated and disappointed&quot; that the new policy had not gone further. 
 
The bank information centre, an organisation which lobbies to improve World Bank policies, said the new rules lacked &quot;the strength and clarity that people negatively impacted by development so profoundly depend upon&quot;. 
 
As the latest version of the rules became public last month, Human Rights Watch likewise said it &quot;does not require the bank to respect human rights&quot;. 
 
Kim, the Bank president, said the framework represented &quot;the best possible compromise&quot;. 
 
&quot;We had to find a path down the middle where we can both ensure that abuses didn&#39;t happen and at the same time make it possible for borrowers to borrow,&quot; Kim told reporters in a conference call. 
 
Overly strict criteria risked harming the economic prospects of poor countries, he said.&nbsp;The Bank currently faces a growing number of other actors in global development, including China, seen as placing fewer conditions on financing. 
 
(Agencies)

New rules have drawn fire from NGOs for creating loopholes and shifting responsibility to the borrowing nations

The World Bank adopted a new set of policies on Thursday that aim to expand protections for people and the environment in projects financed by the bank while making it easier for borrowers to comply with its standards. The global lender dedicated to fighting poverty, whose commitments rose to more than $60 billion this year, said the new environmental and social framework had involved the "most extensive consultation ever conducted" by the bank. "These new safeguards will build into our projects updated and improved protections for the most vulnerable people in the world and our environment," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement. The Bank last year acknowledged that its projects had sometimes resulted in forced population displacements. World Bank projects in regions around the world have been accused of underwriting human rights abuses. But the first major update to the World Bank's safeguard policies in nearly 20 years has drawn fire from some non-profit groups for creating "loopholes" with more vague language and more reliance on borrower country laws and standards. "The bank has effectively dismantled thirty years of environmental and social protections for the world’s most impoverished and vulnerable peoples," said Stephanie Fried, executive director of the Ulu Foundation, a non-profit group focussed on forest preservation. The new rules are to take effect in 2018 and will require client states to conduct a "broadened social assessment and management of environmental and social risks," to guarantee labour rights and prohibit any form of forced labour. Projects will have to reduce environmental harm and avoid large-scale population displacements, according to the new policy. Kim told reporters on a conference call that one key example of the changes will be increased protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. The bank pulled out of a $90 million loan to Uganda's health system in 2014 after the government passed a law that imposed life sentences for certain homosexual activities and made it a crime not to report violations. Kim said the World Bank had committed increased funding to work with its 189 member countries to lift their own environmental and human rights safeguards to match those of the Washington-based development lender. While welcoming some improvements, Nadia Daar, head of the Washington office at Oxfam International, said in a statement that her organization was "frustrated and disappointed" that the new policy had not gone further. The bank information centre, an organisation which lobbies to improve World Bank policies, said the new rules lacked "the strength and clarity that people negatively impacted by development so profoundly depend upon". As the latest version of the rules became public last month, Human Rights Watch likewise said it "does not require the bank to respect human rights". Kim, the Bank president, said the framework represented "the best possible compromise". "We had to find a path down the middle where we can both ensure that abuses didn't happen and at the same time make it possible for borrowers to borrow," Kim told reporters in a conference call. Overly strict criteria risked harming the economic prospects of poor countries, he said. The Bank currently faces a growing number of other actors in global development, including China, seen as placing fewer conditions on financing. (Agencies)

World Bank's new environmental framework angers human rights critics

Carcasses of dolphins are washing up on Bulgaria&#39;s Black Sea beaches at a higher than normal rate, with a record 108 dead animals discovered this year, local authorities said on Thursday. 
 
The cause of the deaths has yet to be determined, said enviroment minister Ivelina Vasileva, after collecting information by regional centres, adding that 77 of the dead dolphins were found in the southern part of the country&#39;s Black Sea coast. 
 
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov today called for a special meeting with conservation organisations to try to find a solution to the record number of deaths. He said on his official Facebook page that steps are being taken to ban fishing in areas populated by the protected species. 
 
The number of dead dolphins in 2016 is significantly higher than the 56 found last year and the previous record of 74 in 2012.&nbsp;Media reports of dead dolphins on Bulgarian beaches have been rife in recent years. In spite of repeated allegations, often with finger-pointing at fishermen, the cause has yet to be established conclusively. 
 
There are three species of dolphins in the Black Sea off Bulgaria: the short-beaked common dolphin, the harbour porpoise and the common bottlenose dolphin. The dolphin population along Bulgaria&#39;s black sea coast is about 15,000, according to environment ministry data. 
 
The penalty for killing a dolphin is a fine of up to 20,000 Levs ($11,270), and imprisonment for up to five years. 
 
(Reuters)

Alarmingly, 108 dead dolphins were found here in 2016, much more than the previous high of 74

Carcasses of dolphins are washing up on Bulgaria's Black Sea beaches at a higher than normal rate, with a record 108 dead animals discovered this year, local authorities said on Thursday. The cause of the deaths has yet to be determined, said enviroment minister Ivelina Vasileva, after collecting information by regional centres, adding that 77 of the dead dolphins were found in the southern part of the country's Black Sea coast. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov today called for a special meeting with conservation organisations to try to find a solution to the record number of deaths. He said on his official Facebook page that steps are being taken to ban fishing in areas populated by the protected species. The number of dead dolphins in 2016 is significantly higher than the 56 found last year and the previous record of 74 in 2012. Media reports of dead dolphins on Bulgarian beaches have been rife in recent years. In spite of repeated allegations, often with finger-pointing at fishermen, the cause has yet to be established conclusively. There are three species of dolphins in the Black Sea off Bulgaria: the short-beaked common dolphin, the harbour porpoise and the common bottlenose dolphin. The dolphin population along Bulgaria's black sea coast is about 15,000, according to environment ministry data. The penalty for killing a dolphin is a fine of up to 20,000 Levs ($11,270), and imprisonment for up to five years. (Reuters)

Record number of dolphin carcasses wash up on Bulgaria's coast

More than 100 Nobel laureates called on the international environmental group Greenpeace on Thursday to end its opposition to genetically modified crops, saying there is a scientific consensus they are safe and can benefit society. 
 
At a news conference, the scientists cited in particular the value of a genetically modified rice used to prevent some illnesses related to vitamin A deficiency in much of the developing world.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Golden Rice&quot; produces beta carotene in the grain, which rice does not in the natural world.&nbsp; 
 
The laureates called on Greenpeace specifically to stop opposing the grain, as well as related biotechnology that they say has a positive impact across the globe.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The time has come that we now know these things are safe,&quot; Nobel laureate Sir Richard Roberts said. &quot;The basic method does not necessarily lead to a bad thing.&quot; 
 
He said the group could influence other organizations and parties opposing genetically modified organisms (GMO). 
 
Greenpeace officials called the event a publicity stunt. 
 
It contends that Golden Rice could contaminate non-genetically engineered rice and make it hard for people in developing countries to avoid such products. It said other efforts to address nutrition needs in developing areas of the world should be funded and implemented. 
 
&quot;We&#39;ve been attacked in countries around the world because we&#39;re working with farmers and communities on the threat they face from GMOs,&rdquo; said Charlie Cray, a senior researcher with Greenpeace. &quot;The real issue here is: why are they doing a press conference in Washington DC a week before there is a major vote in GMO labelling?&quot;&nbsp; 
 
The US Senate is scheduled to take a procedural vote next week on a bill that could pre-empt Vermont&#39;s GMO labelling law, set to take effect on July 1. 
 
The laureates say science backs them and urged Greenpeace to re-examine which findings the group uses in its advocacy. 
 
&quot;They are willing to dismiss the views of the vast majority of scientists,&quot; said Randy Schekman, who won a Nobel in physiology or medicine in 2013. &quot;What I fail to understand is their acceptance of science and the scientific process when it serves their purposes, but in their opposition, they oppose the view of scientists.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Greenpeace called the declaration a publicity stunt, stressing that GMOs contaminate the environment

More than 100 Nobel laureates called on the international environmental group Greenpeace on Thursday to end its opposition to genetically modified crops, saying there is a scientific consensus they are safe and can benefit society. At a news conference, the scientists cited in particular the value of a genetically modified rice used to prevent some illnesses related to vitamin A deficiency in much of the developing world. "Golden Rice" produces beta carotene in the grain, which rice does not in the natural world. The laureates called on Greenpeace specifically to stop opposing the grain, as well as related biotechnology that they say has a positive impact across the globe. "The time has come that we now know these things are safe," Nobel laureate Sir Richard Roberts said. "The basic method does not necessarily lead to a bad thing." He said the group could influence other organizations and parties opposing genetically modified organisms (GMO). Greenpeace officials called the event a publicity stunt. It contends that Golden Rice could contaminate non-genetically engineered rice and make it hard for people in developing countries to avoid such products. It said other efforts to address nutrition needs in developing areas of the world should be funded and implemented. "We've been attacked in countries around the world because we're working with farmers and communities on the threat they face from GMOs,” said Charlie Cray, a senior researcher with Greenpeace. "The real issue here is: why are they doing a press conference in Washington DC a week before there is a major vote in GMO labelling?" The US Senate is scheduled to take a procedural vote next week on a bill that could pre-empt Vermont's GMO labelling law, set to take effect on July 1. The laureates say science backs them and urged Greenpeace to re-examine which findings the group uses in its advocacy. "They are willing to dismiss the views of the vast majority of scientists," said Randy Schekman, who won a Nobel in physiology or medicine in 2013. "What I fail to understand is their acceptance of science and the scientific process when it serves their purposes, but in their opposition, they oppose the view of scientists." (Reuters)

Nobel laureates urge Greenpeace to stop opposing genetically modified crops

Fans of renowned artist Christo faced disappointment for a second day today after his latest work in northern Italy was partly closed by rain. 
 
His ambitious three kilometre-long (1.9 miles) walkway of 200,000 floating cubes covered in orange fabric floating atop Lake Iseo was evacuated Saturday evening after wind and rain made it unstable. 
 
&quot;Given the influx of people and potentially bad weather, it is advisable to rethink your trip,&quot; said a manager at the installation in a statement. 
 
Local authorities have also cancelled train services to the lake to limit the numbers able to reach the project. 
 
After being closed throughout Saturday night, the project only partly reopened Sunday morning with one of the two walkways still closed to the public. 
 
Crowds of visitors hoping to visit Christo&#39;s &quot;The Floating Piers&quot; have been gathering around the lake since it opened on Saturday, with organisers hoping that 500,000 people will experience it by July 3 when the pontoons close to the public. 
 
But the walkways can only hold 11,000 people at any one time and only if weather conditions allow. 
 
More than 55,000 visitors attempted to cross the walkways on Saturday, forcing organisers who had anticipated just 40,000 to ask that they return another day. 
 
And by the early evening the bridges had been forced to close by heavy winds and driving rain. 
 
Christo first conceived the project in 1970 for the River Plate delta in Argentina but was thwarted after failing to secure the necessary permits. 
 
Despite the long delay in realising his vision Christo said on Thursday that the project, his first since 2005, &quot;stayed in our hearts&quot;. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

Crowds of visitors hoping to visit Christo's "The Floating Piers" have been gathering around the lake since it opened on Saturday

Fans of renowned artist Christo faced disappointment for a second day today after his latest work in northern Italy was partly closed by rain. His ambitious three kilometre-long (1.9 miles) walkway of 200,000 floating cubes covered in orange fabric floating atop Lake Iseo was evacuated Saturday evening after wind and rain made it unstable. "Given the influx of people and potentially bad weather, it is advisable to rethink your trip," said a manager at the installation in a statement. Local authorities have also cancelled train services to the lake to limit the numbers able to reach the project. After being closed throughout Saturday night, the project only partly reopened Sunday morning with one of the two walkways still closed to the public. Crowds of visitors hoping to visit Christo's "The Floating Piers" have been gathering around the lake since it opened on Saturday, with organisers hoping that 500,000 people will experience it by July 3 when the pontoons close to the public. But the walkways can only hold 11,000 people at any one time and only if weather conditions allow. More than 55,000 visitors attempted to cross the walkways on Saturday, forcing organisers who had anticipated just 40,000 to ask that they return another day. And by the early evening the bridges had been forced to close by heavy winds and driving rain. Christo first conceived the project in 1970 for the River Plate delta in Argentina but was thwarted after failing to secure the necessary permits. Despite the long delay in realising his vision Christo said on Thursday that the project, his first since 2005, "stayed in our hearts". (AFP)

Christo fans told rain may prevent walking on water

A US judge extended the deadline for Volkswagen, US government regulators and owners of 2.0 litre cars&nbsp;to reach a final diesel emissions settlement until June 28. 
 
The tentative settlement announced in April includes an offer by Volkswagen to buy back nearly 500,000 polluting vehicles, as well as an environmental remediation fund to address excess emissions and a fund to promote green automotive technology. 
 
In April, US district judge Charles Breyer&nbsp;set a June-21 deadline to publicly file the final settlement, but in the Wednesday order he agreed to extend the deadline by one week to complete the complex agreement. 
 
Breyer said in a written order he was extending the deadline at the request of former FBI director Robert S&nbsp;Mueller, who has been acting as the court-appointed mediator, and &quot;given the highly technical nature of the proposed settlements in these complex proceedings.&quot; 
 
The US Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board, US Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission and lawyers representing owners have been working for weeks to hammer out the final agreements. 
 
Two sources briefed on the talks say the agreement is still on track to be finalised. 
 
Volkswagen spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan noted that the delay was at the request of the FBI&#39;s Mueller. 
 
&quot;We thank our customers for their continued patience as the process of finalising agreements moves forward,&quot; Ginivan&nbsp;said. 
 
The settlement also will include an option to eventually get cars repaired if regulators approve a fix. Owners will get &quot;substantial monetary compensation&quot;, Breyer said in April. 
 
In April, Volkswagen said it would set aside 16.2 billion Euros ($18.2 billion) and slash its dividend to cover the costs from Dieselgate -- including nearly 8 billion Euros to cover buying back and fixing polluting vehicles. 
 
The initial settlement to be announced later this month is not expected to address about 80,000 larger Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche 3.0 litre vehicles with separate undisclosed software that allowed vehicles to emit up to nine times legally allowable pollution. Those vehicles are expected to be addressed at a later date. 
 
Another issue that would not be resolved until later is how much Volkswagen will pay in fines for admitting to violating the Clean Air Act, sources said. The EPA said in September 2015 that VW could face up to $18 billion in fines for installing the cheating software. 
 
After it is finalised, the agreement faces a public comment period and must get final judicial approval, which could come at a July 26 hearing. Judge Breyer did not delay that hearing. 
 
VW also faces an ongoing criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department. 
(Reuters)

Volkswagen has offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting cars

A US judge extended the deadline for Volkswagen, US government regulators and owners of 2.0 litre cars to reach a final diesel emissions settlement until June 28. The tentative settlement announced in April includes an offer by Volkswagen to buy back nearly 500,000 polluting vehicles, as well as an environmental remediation fund to address excess emissions and a fund to promote green automotive technology. In April, US district judge Charles Breyer set a June-21 deadline to publicly file the final settlement, but in the Wednesday order he agreed to extend the deadline by one week to complete the complex agreement. Breyer said in a written order he was extending the deadline at the request of former FBI director Robert S Mueller, who has been acting as the court-appointed mediator, and "given the highly technical nature of the proposed settlements in these complex proceedings." The US Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board, US Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission and lawyers representing owners have been working for weeks to hammer out the final agreements. Two sources briefed on the talks say the agreement is still on track to be finalised. Volkswagen spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan noted that the delay was at the request of the FBI's Mueller. "We thank our customers for their continued patience as the process of finalising agreements moves forward," Ginivan said. The settlement also will include an option to eventually get cars repaired if regulators approve a fix. Owners will get "substantial monetary compensation", Breyer said in April. In April, Volkswagen said it would set aside 16.2 billion Euros ($18.2 billion) and slash its dividend to cover the costs from Dieselgate -- including nearly 8 billion Euros to cover buying back and fixing polluting vehicles. The initial settlement to be announced later this month is not expected to address about 80,000 larger Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche 3.0 litre vehicles with separate undisclosed software that allowed vehicles to emit up to nine times legally allowable pollution. Those vehicles are expected to be addressed at a later date. Another issue that would not be resolved until later is how much Volkswagen will pay in fines for admitting to violating the Clean Air Act, sources said. The EPA said in September 2015 that VW could face up to $18 billion in fines for installing the cheating software. After it is finalised, the agreement faces a public comment period and must get final judicial approval, which could come at a July 26 hearing. Judge Breyer did not delay that hearing. VW also faces an ongoing criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department. (Reuters)

US judge extends VW diesel emissions settlement deadline

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