RSS Feed
Author Archive
Land rights activists angered as India’s forest act undermined
Posted by Guardian: Matthew Newsome on February 15th, 2013
Guardian: Land and tribal rights in India have been dealt a new blow after the government announced last week that major infrastructure projects will be exempt from obtaining consent for forest clearance from tribal communities living in the forest, a decision that undermines the importance of the country's Forest Rights Act.
Tribal and forest rights activists say the decision by India's ministers leaves village councils (gram sabhas) powerless to reject the building of roads, railways, transmission lines,...
Posted in 
Ethiopia looks to realise its geothermal energy potential
Posted by Guardian: Matthew Newsome on February 13th, 2013
Guardian: Ethiopia, like its fellow Great Rift Valley countries, has enormous geothermal energy potential. However, the costs involved and the need for skilled expertise have, until now, been major obstacles.
In late January, the Development Bank of Ethiopia announced that, over the next five months, it will offer an initial $20m to kickstart geothermal energy projects in the country's private sector as part of a programme funded by the World Bank. A further $20m is expected to be made available at a later...