Uzbekistan warns of ‘disaster’ over Tajikistan mega-dam

By Staff WritersNov 17, 2010 Tashkent (AFP) – Uzbekistan Wednesday warned world powers of a looming environmental disaster from Tajikistan’s plan to build a huge hydro-electric dam, in a new show of tensions from the ex-Soviet neighbors. Tashkent also accused Tajikistan’s main aluminum plant, the largest in Central Asia and located near Uzbekistan’s southern border, […]

Fading fish stocks driving Asia sea rivalries

By Pascale TrouillaudNovember 16, 2010 Beijing (AFP) Nov 16, 2010 – Maritime incidents in the East and South China Seas, such as the one that sparked a major row between China and Japan, could intensify in a fight over dwindling fish stocks, experts say. Past incidents have been sparked by regional competition for strategic sea […]

In Pakistan, corruption and floods are keeping al Qaeda fat and happy

By Haider Ali Hussein MullickBest Defense chief Pakistan correspondent Monday, October 25, 2010 – 10:53 AM I just got back from my third trip to Pakistan this year, where I examined the scope and scale of its counterinsurgency strategy and al Qaeda’s response. The bottom line is that al Qaeda’s big plans for world dominance […]

Image of the Day: Merowe Dam and Reservoir Viewed from Orbit, 5 October 2010

Caption by William L. Stefanov, NASA-JSCOctober 25, 2010 The Merowe Dam is located near the 4th cataract of the Nile River, in the Nubian Desert of the Republic of the Sudan (also known as Sudan). The dam was built to generate hydroelectric power—electricity intended to further industrial and agricultural development of the country. This astronaut […]

CIA seeking wider role in Pakistan

The Nation of PakistanPublished: October 24, 2010 NEW YORK – The United States is pressuring Pakistan to allow more CIA officers into the country to expand US secret operations aimed at eliminating militant havens near the Afghan border, a prominent American newspaper reported Saturday. “The US asked Pakistan in recent weeks to allow additional Central […]

Pakistani flooding inflames divisions

By Karin BrulliardSaturday, September 11, 2010 IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN Even in the best of times, Pakistan is a tenuous federation riven by regional, ethnic, sectarian and class rivalries. These are not the best of times. The South Asian nation is struggling to cope with cataclysmic floods that inundated every province, destroying infrastructure and leaving millions […]

Scale of disaster, security risks, spotty organization overwhelm Pakistan aid efforts

By NATHANIAL GRONEWOLD of ClimateWirePublished: October 15, 2010 The fourth in a four-part series on Pakistan’s flood disaster. Click here for part one, here for part two and here for part three. NOWSHERA, Pakistan — “I wonder if humanity exists in other parts of Pakistan.” Salma Begum 32, fumes when asked what the government and […]

Pakistan flood crisis blamed partly on deforestation

Years of illegal logging by the ‘timber mafia’ and the Taliban cleared forests, allowing raging floodwater to flow unimpeded, experts say. By Alex Rodriguez, Los Angeles TimesOctober 13, 2010 Reporting from Chail, Pakistan — People here remember when hundreds of Pakistani Taliban militants roamed through the forested ridges flanking the Chail River, armed not with […]

Asia water supply ‘past its tipping point’

By TERESA CEROJANO, Associated Press WriterTue Oct 12, 6:58 am ET MANILA, Philippines – Booming populations, rapid urbanization and competing demands for food and energy will drain Asia’s dwindling freshwater supplies unless the region better manages its resources, experts said Tuesday. Unless something is done, demand for water will exceed supply by 40 percent by […]

Graph of the Day: Prevailing Patterns of Threat to Human Water Security and Biodiversity in 2010

Adjusted human water security threat is contrasted against incident biodiversity threat. Much of the developed world faces the challenge of reducing biodiversity threat and protecting biodiversity, while maintaining established water services. The developing world shows tandem threats to human water security and biodiversity, posing an arguably more significant challenge. Large, contiguous areas of low threat […]

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