This report provides mayors, governors, councillors and other local government leaders with a generic framework for risk reduction and points to good practices and tools that are already being applied in different cities for that purpose. It discusses why building disaster resilience is beneficial; what kind of strategies and actions are required; and how to go about the task. It offers practical guidance to understand and take action on the "Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient" as set out in the global campaign "Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready!".

The air transport sector is enjoying an optimistic growth rate while at the same time eliciting growing concern, due to its environmental impact and its vulnerability with respect to energy security. These issues have put the sector at the forefront of the tide in achieving energy efficiency. Efforts have been made on every front to improve efficiency through better technology, optimized operation, as well as energy-saving infrastructure. What is the low-hanging fruit that the air transport sector can reach in terms of energy efficiency?

The purpose of this ‘global’ project on groundwater governance presents something of a paradox – it is looking for a global solution to a set of essentially local problems. Patterns of groundwater use are necessarily determined by the aquifers that host the groundwater and the hydrogeological process that condition groundwater flow. Governance of that use is relatively straightforward – groundwater users and their pumps can usually be identified and appealed to as policy targets.

The Knowledge Partnership for Measuring Air Pollution and GHG Emissions in Asia aims to help policy makers, development agencies and other stakeholders in Asia have better access to air quality and climate change data to further enrich policy development activities and development interventions relevant to energy and transport sectors and urban development.

Since 2008, the rush for land in developing countries has rapidly intensified but the sector remains largely unregulated and land deals are frequently agreed in secret between governments and investors. Such a lack of mechanisms or political will to ensure transparent, accountable, and equitable decision-making in the acquisition and allocation of land concessions undermines governance and the democratic process.

The ever increasing loss of natural floodplain wetlands to hydrological and global change, land use change and natural hazards is leading to serious environmental and ecological concerns in the flood plains of Assam, where wetlands (beels) which undertakes a range of hydrological & environmental function also provide an ambient habitat to a variety of flora & fauna of local and global significance and covers close to 4 percent of the total floodplain area and 1.29 percent of the total geographical area and is therefore critical.

This draft National Chemical Policy, 2012 released by Department of Chemicals to facilitate growth and development of chemical industry accords high importance to R & D, technology up-gradation, pollution & environmental aspects, effluent disposal and green chemicals.

India is one of the most water-short countries in the world. With 16% of the world’s population and only 4% of total available freshwater, India is challenged by overall and relative water scarcity. Water may prove to be the crux of further development in many parts of India, as water is required for further socio-economic development, for attaining food security and other Millennium Development Goals. Water scarcity is the expression of a physical, but just as much, or even more, an expression of socio-economic and developmental limitations.

Asia is at a crossroads. As the world’s most populous region, with high economic growth, a rising share of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the most vulnerability to climate risks, Asia must be at the center in the global fight against climate change. Simply stated, Asia’s current resource- and emission-intensive growth pattern is not sustainable, with further gains in human well-being constrained by the environmental carrying capacity. This study recognizes low-carbon green growth as an imperative—not an option—for developing Asia.

Adaptation to climate change in developing countries is to a large extent about building resilience, including social and institutional responsiveness to change. In that sense it is about “development.” However, adaptation finance is not development assistance. It is better thought of as a financial transfer based on the “causal responsibility” for the disproportionate costs to the poor of climate change associated with carbon emissions of the rich.