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Archive for October 19th, 2011
Climate Change Threatens Tea Production In India
Posted by GroundReport: Stella Paul on October 19th, 2011
GroundReport: Production of tea in Assam - one of the world’s largest tea producing regions - is on a slow decline, thanks to changing climate in the Brahmaputra river basin. This has been revealed by Prof Chandan Mahanta, a leading scientist from Assam who has been studying climate change effect in the river basin for years. Speaking at a recent media meet on climate change and effects of other development projects on the Yarlung Zangbo/Brahmaputra river basin in Kathmandu, Nepal, Mahanta said the research...
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Niger warns of looming food crisis
Posted by AlertNet: George Fominyen on October 19th, 2011
AlertNet: Niger is at the cusp of another food crisis as erratic rains and insect attacks on crops have caused crop failure in several parts of the West African nation, authorities have warned.
President Mahamadou Issoufou has called on the international community to come to his country's assistance, saying Niger is set to face a cereal deficit of 400,000 tonnes.
A major international intervention was required last year when half of Niger's 15 million inhabitants experienced food shortages and severe...
China state TV recasts spotlight on Apple suppliers’ pollution
Posted by Reuters: Melanie Lee and Clare Jim on October 19th, 2011
Reuters: Some of Apple Inc's suppliers in China have once again come under scrutiny, with state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) accusing them of causing pollution.
Taiwan media gave prominent play on Wednesday to an investigative report aired on Sunday in which CCTV reporters visited a few suppliers that Chinese environmental groups in August had said were thought to be doing business with Apple and had lax environmental standards.
In the 40-minute report, CCTV named Japan's Meiko Electronics...
Belo Monte dam license ‘illegal’ rules Brazilian federal judge
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 19th, 2011
Mongabay: The environmental license for the controversial Belo Monte dam violates the constitutional rights of indigenous communities and is therefore illegal, ruled a federal judge in Brazil on Monday.
Judge Selene Maria de Almeida concluded that the 2005 decree that authorized the dam is illegal because Congress failed to carry out a consultation process with communities that will be affected by the dam. The consultation process is a right guaranteed to indigenous communities under Brazil's constitution....
The blacklisting of Rio Tinto
Posted by Al Jazeera: Naj Taylor on October 19th, 2011
Al Jazeera: Investing in conflict-affected and high-risk areas is a growing concern for responsible businesses and investors. Often times companies based in developed countries operate in lesser-developed foreign markets, where governance standards are lax, corruption is high and business practices are poor.
These pieces focus on one specific Anglo-Australian company and their American partner that jointly operate a mine in West Papua, one of the poorest provinces of Indonesia. The risks for the company include...