-The Times of India MUMBAI: Climate change and reckless development are leaving Mumbai increasingly vulnerable to the elements. A news report on an ongoing climate study places India's financial capital sixth in a list of 20 port cities worldwide at risk from severe storm-surge flooding, damage from high storm winds and rising seas. By 2070, according to the study, an estimated 11.4 million people and assets worth $1.3 trillion would be...

-The United Nations World leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other groups will come together in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to take part in the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) later this month. The Conference seeks to shape how countries and their citizens can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection to achieve long-term growth. Seven key areas have been identified...

Each time 25 year old Salma takes her one year old son Zubair to the Batla Clinic (a private clinic in Delhi) for a shot of the DPT, the cost of transportation and the vaccine adds up to approximately Rs.500.   When it is time for Zubair to take the next immunization dose, Salma may find that the expenses have entirely spiraled out of her reach. New vaccines and expensive brands of baby...

India, like other Asian countries, has focused its climate change adaptation strategies on rural and urban areas while neglecting the urban fringes, say experts. Peri-urban areas are characterised by haphazard, accelerated expansion and are farthest from basic urban services and infrastructure, according to United Nations-Habitat’s ‘The State of Asian Cities 2010-11’. By 2020, of the projected 4.2 billion urban population of the world, 2.2 billion will be living in Asia, many...

The building collapse in Uttam Nagar that killed four people last week has again exposed how the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) as well as the state government are mired in large-scale corruption. The major cause of the incident, in which four people were killed, was reportedly the flouting of construction norms by the builder. Officials from MCD told Tehelka on condition of anonymity that the number of illegal buildings goes...