-The Hindu Commodification, commercialisation and financialisation of nature will produce a greedy, not green, economy Over 100 world leaders will meet in Rio de Janeiro this week for the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development, popularly referred to as Rio+20 Global Earth Summit. It is being held amidst “‘a world running low on drinking water and productive land’ and set against the backdrop of accelerating global warming, climate change, chemical contamination of air, land...

-The Hindu India has reason to come away feeling pleased with the outcome of the seventh G-20 summit, which concluded in Los Cabos on Tuesday. First, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ticked the Europeans off for landing themselves and the world economy in such a big mess and then expecting handouts from even poor countries. Second, the Prime Minister’s consistent stand, that growth and austerity have to be combined, has also finally found...

-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...

In Maharashtra’s drought-hit Satara district, a cattle camp has come to the rescue of women and their cattle, writes Sameena Dalwai. Mann taluka in Satara district is ground zero for the drought now ravaging interior Maharashtra. The only cattle camp in the vicinity, being run by the Mann Deshi Mahila Bank and Foundation, provides a snap distress. This region, known as ‘Manndesh’ in Marathi folklore, falls in the rain shadow area...

-The Pioneer We have to climb daily for 3 km across the hills on foot from our village in Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand to Dodra Kwar village on Himachal border just to charge mobile set”, says Satrama, woman from Pujeli village in Uttarakhand. Her village is one of those 1,220 villages in hills of Uttarkashi that continues to grope in the dark since the past three years. The villagers are vociferously protesting...