Stunned villagers are finding that governments have been leasing land, often for decades. The half-dozen strangers who descended on this remote West African village brought its hand-to-mouth farmers alarming news: their humble fields, tilled from one generation to the next, were now controlled by Libya's leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, and the farmers would all have to leave. “They told us this would be the last rainy season for us to cultivate our...

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved a plan by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research to prepare the nation’s crops, livestock and fisheries for rising temperatures and other impacts of climate change. The National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture will receive Rs 350 crore for multiple projects — from developing heat-tolerant rice and wheat to tracking the spawning behaviour of marine and freshwater fish amid rising temperatures. The programme will...

The team took part in side events, held ralliesAlso highlighted the significance of small-holderA delegation of non-government organisations assembled under the banner “Beyond Copenhagen” has returned here from Cancun, Mexico, after making interventions for bringing agricultural and food security issues to the mainstream climate negotiations at the 16 {+t} {+h} U.N. Climate Summit. The team took part in the side events, held rallies and lobbied with negotiators during the much...

The UN climate summit reached the Cancun Agreement here early Saturday - but there was no mention of the extent to which industrialised countries would commit to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions after 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol's commitment period ends.Nor was there any agreement on a second commitment period of the protocol, only a decision to keep talking about it. The Kyoto Protocol is currently the only legally binding...

One person in four worldwide paid bribe during the past year while 54 per cent Indians said they greased the palms of authorities to get things done, says a study released on Thursday to mark International Anti-Corruption Day."Corruption has increased over the last three years, say six out of 10 people around the world, and one in four people report paying bribes in the last year," the Berlin-based non-governmental agency,...