News & Updates
19 March 2018
Investment in sustainable water management is critical for Vietnam
Vietnam is facing a water crisis driven by environmental damage, climate change and unsustainable water exploitation. Additionally, the country is struggling to address challenges in resource management in environmentally sustainable ways. Last week in Hanoi the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment held a workshop in preparation of World Water...
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16 March 2018
Natural disasters in Asia caused $48 billion worth of damage to agriculture in 2017
A report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) revealed that between 2005 and 2015 Asia suffered the most significant economic losses from natural disasters. The FAO revealed the figures in their report ‘The impacts of disaster and crisis on agriculture and food security 2017’. Half of the damage caused...
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15 March 2018
Linking local production and refugee nutrition is key to ‘maintain harmony’ in Cox’s Bazar
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has distributed seeds and agricultural machinery to over 500 host families in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh to enable them to grow new varieties of crops to sell and eat. The FAO hopes this will also help to improve the nutrition of Rohingya refugees in the...
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13 March 2018
Solar power gets another boost from India, France and the ADB
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Solar Alliance (ISA) have signed a new agreement to promote the development of solar energy in Asia and the pacific. This includes solar power generation, solar based mini grids and transmission systems for integrating solar energy into grids. The ISA was established...
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13 March 2018
Japan signs $5.2 million agreement with UNDP to support six Pacific nations
Last week the government of Japan signed a USD$5.2 million agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to upscale its current parliamentary development work and support six Pacific Nations. Thanks to the programme, the UNDP will provide new support to the Parliaments of Samoa, Republic of Marshall Islands and...
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12 March 2018
Disaster resilience and post disaster recovery in Asia
The latest report by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) found that natural disasters are becoming more frequent and intense in Asia, with disaster risk outpacing resilience. ESCAP also estimates that between 2015 and 2030 40% of global economic losses from disasters will be...
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12 March 2018
Vietnam to construct 4,000 storm proof homes to protect against climate change
A new partnership between the UN and Vietnam will see storm proof houses built in vulnerable coastal communities. The 29.5 million housing scheme will be funded by the UN Green Climate Fund and aims to increase the resilience of Vietnamese coastal communities to the effects of climate change. The project...
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08 March 2018
Resilience to climate change in Asia-Pacific depends on gender equality, says UNEP
The United Nations Environment Programme have highlighted that for the Asia-Pacific region to develop a long term and sustainable resilience to the effects of climate change, they must address two key factors: human vulnerability and gender inequality. Around the world women are effected more significantly and frequently by climate change...
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06 March 2018
APEC accelerates early warning systems after the record breaking disasters of 2017
APEC member economies are fast-tracking the development of digital safeguards in the areas of the Asia-Pacific region that are notably vulnerable to natural disasters. Emergency management officials from APEC hope that this will boost vulnerable communities and livelihoods. 2017 was a year marked by an unusually high and severe number...
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05 March 2018
Energy efficiency is a top priority for Vietnam
The World Bank and Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has announced a $102 million project to support the adoption of energy efficient technologies and practices in industrial enterprises. The project will provide industrial enterprises with access to a new line of credit to fund their purchase of energy efficient...
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02 March 2018
Sri Lanka is hopeful a new pumping station will protect against flooding
At the start of 2018 work began in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to construct a large pumping station designed to extract water from flood prone parts of the city. Colombo sits on the Kelani River making it vulnerable to flooding as during heavy rainfall the hills and plans of west Colombo...
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01 March 2018
World Bank announces new climate resilience plans to benefit 25 million in India
The World Bank has announced a $420 million project to increase climate resilience financial and viability in agriculture for small and marginal farmers in India. The project is set to benefit over 25 million people across over 5000 villages in India’s districts of Marathwada and Vidarbha which are most vulnerable...
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28 February 2018
A new project puts women at the forefront of climate resilience in Bangladesh
The Green Climate Fund has approved a US$25 million grant to support Bangladesh’s efforts to build the adaptive capacities of vulnerable communities along the cost. The initiative will focus on women and adolescent girls and is set to benefit 700,000 people over 6 years. The project will be led by...
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26 February 2018
LAO PDR launches comprehensive new plans to tackle stunting
Representatives from two provinces in Lao PDR have agreed on a comprehensive new approach to reducing stunting. The new initiative will include a focus on diversified food production, delivering better healthcare, providing clean water, improving sanitation facilities and enhancing social safety net programmes. Lao PDR has a significantly high prevalence...
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22 February 2018
Solar panels are bringing 40,000 litres of water a day to families in Nepal
In April 2015 Nepal experienced a severe earthquake that killed almost 9,000 people and disrupted the lives of 8 million, one of the key disruptions in rural areas was reduced access to clean water. The recovery process has been a challenge due to a number of reasons including funding delays....
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20 February 2018
How can India’s agricultural industry prepare for climate change?
India’s latest annual economic survey revealed that climate change could hurt the income of Indian farmers by up to 25% in the medium term. India is expected to experience extreme weather events, temperature rise and a decrease in rainful due to climate change, all of which threaten livelihoods across the...
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20 February 2018
WHO calls for a significant scaling up of health services in Cox’s Bazar
The World Health Organisation (WHO) are calling for an increase in health services to the 1.3 million people in Cox’s Bazar. Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh has become home to approximately 688,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar since August 2017, joining approximately 212,500 others who had arrived at an earlier date. The influx...
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19 February 2018
Monsoon season poses a serious risk for Bangladesh’s refugee communities
Severe weather brought on by the monsoon season in Bangladesh poses a significant risk to the refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar. Since August 2017 the Inter-Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) estimates that 688,001 Rohingya refugees have entered Bangladesh. A large number of these refugees are living in an overcrowded and hilly...
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13 February 2018
Solar power is key for bringing electricity to all Indians
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a $2.5 billion plan to electrify every Indian household by 2019. Currently 240 million still have no access to electrical power; solar power is likely to play a large role in the push to connect all of India to electricity. In India 60%...
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08 February 2018
New UN project set to benefit 14,000 Nepalese farmers
A new programme launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is set to benefit thousands of rural farmers in Nepal. The ‘Cooperative Market Development Programme’ uses an innovative approach to build the capacity of farmers as well as add greater value to their products. The programme is being implemented...
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