Asia Pacific nations agreed on Sunday to boost the region’s agricultural productivity through technology transfer and information sharing as climate change and a fall in arable land threaten future food supplies. The 21-member countries of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) also called for “responsible” agricultural investment as rising acquisition of farmland in developing countries by other nations to ensure their own food supplies is causing friction with local people. “Climate change...

In yet another blow to the Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta Alumina Ltd , the environment ministry has decided to halt the company’s plans of expanding its Rs 4,600-crore Lanjigarh refinery in Orissa. The existing one million tonne Lanjigarh refinery will, however, continue to be in operation. The ministry has found the Lanjigarh refinery’s expansion to be “unauthorised” and in serious violation of environmental laws. It has decided to revoke the permission given...

Claims about the benefits of Posco's $12 billion integrated steel project to Orissa's economy and job market come from a study by an “independent” research organisation — but was paid for by Posco itself. In January 2007, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) published a report on ‘Social Cost Benefit Analysis of the POSCO Steel Project in Orissa,' which claimed that the project would directly and indirectly generate 8.7...

Protecting the rights of Land Users from speculation, stepped up production of agrofuels and population growth is vital to combat global hunger and malnutrition, an independent United Nations expert said today. “Pressures on land are increasing as a result of speculation on farmland, the expansion of agrofuels production, and demographic growth in rural areas,” Special Rapporteur on the right to food Olivier De Schutter noted. “In this context, moving swiftly towards protecting...

Steel giant Posco’s proposal for the largest foreign direct investment in India has failed to pass environment muster with a central panel picking flaws in the process to settle forest rights and approve the shortlisted site in Orissa. Three members of the four-person committee have recommended that the Union forest and environment ministry scrap its approvals while the remaining nominee has suggested that the exercise be carried out afresh. The panel’s recommendations...