Beijing, 11 February 2011 (AP) — China says it is launching a massive well drilling operation to save the crucial wheat crop stricken by the worst drought in decades. The plan to drill 1,350 wells across eight northeastern provinces follows the announcement of plans to spend $1 billion to alleviate the drought. China is the […]
ScienceDaily (Feb. 11, 2011) — Increasing numbers of domestic livestock and more resource-intensive production methods are encouraging animal epidemics around the world, a problem that is particularly acute in developing countries, where livestock diseases present a growing threat to the food security of already vulnerable populations, according to new assessments reported February 10 at the […]
VIENNA, Feb 10 (IPS) , 2011 (IPS) – Pakistan is still reeling from flooding that caused one of the world’s costliest natural disasters in 2010, with millions of people lacking shelter, infrastructure in ruins and donations falling short of appeals. But worse may come. The United Nations’ disaster coordination agency announced on Jan. 24 that […]
By Staff WritersSantiago, Chile (UPI) Feb 10, 2011 Chile has ordered nationwide contingency planning to prepare for damaging effects of a drought triggered by La Niña weather phenomenon, already seen behind low rainfall and poor agricultural harvests in Argentina. A succession of natural disasters has put unexpected financial pressures on President Sebastian Piñera’s announced plans […]
By Sally Davies6 Feb 2011 The president of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino, has imposed a nationwide ban on logging after floods which affected a high proportion of the country. The president said that too much logging was resulting in these areas being more susceptible to flooding and landslides. However, it is expected that it will […]
By Evan Abramson, Yale Environment 360February 8, 2011 For thousands of years, nomadic herdsmen have roamed the harsh, semi-arid lowlands that stretch across 80 percent of Kenya and 60 percent of Ethiopia. Descendants of the oldest tribal societies in the world, they survive thanks to the animals they raise and the crops they grow, their […]
By Staff WritersFeb 9, 2011 Beijing (AFP) – China called Wednesday for higher rice output to offset damage to its wheat crop in the drought-stricken north and pledged $1 billion in spending to battle a problem the UN warned could be “very serious”. The drought affecting large swathes of northern China is the worst in […]
By JEFF RUBIN, Globe and Mail BlogPosted on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 6:21AM EST It’s more than coincidence the Arab world is convulsing with social unrest just as the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization’s widely watched price index recently soared past the previous food price peak set in the summer of 2008. After all, […]
By Joe DeCapuaFebruary 07, 2011 In the coming months, parts of southern Africa may experience the worst flooding in the last 20 or 30 years. That’s the warning Monday from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It says the La Niña weather phenomenon has brought heavier than normal rainfall, destroying thousands of hectares of […]
COLOMBO, 06 Feb 2011 (AFP) — Sri Lanka’s monsoon rains have spread to more villages and towns, leaving at least 14 people dead and more than one million with flooded homes, according to officials. The number of people in state-run shelters rose to 236,000 by Saturday evening, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) in Colombo said, […]
