Harvested News

First, the nature of adaptation projects is to teach people to flexibly deal with the impact of climate change, a task that requires sustained effort over a long period of time. Second, adaptation projects, just like other climate-change projects, are mostly donor funded over a limited timeframe. What will happen after funding ends is, therefore, critical. In Cambodia, adaptation projects account for 70 percent…

Local activist Gerry Arances, from the Philippines movement for climate justice, says the number could be as high as 59, a figure based on permit applications lodged with the energy department. “It’s ironic given we are at ground zero of climate change the government has approved over 50 coal power plants,” he told RTCC. In an article for RTCC, Philippines climate commissioner Heherson Alvarez…

Asyani claimed she took the wood from her own land years ago, but because she lacked the requisite documentation, she faced potential jail time and a fine close to US$40,000, despite making only about a dollar a day. Asyani makes a living as a masseuse for babies in her village. Since she doesn’t make enough, her neighbors help her out by giving her food…

This is the challenge posed by a new game developed by the University of the Philippines’ Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) and homegrown game company Balangay Entertainment, with funding from the Commission on Higher Education. The game is called Resilience: Survive and Thrive. Ideal for 3 to 4 players ages 10 and up, it takes 15 to 45 minutes to play. Like most great games…

The promise will begin to take concrete form as soon as all 196 UN members submit their “intended nationally determined commitments” (INDCs). These will determine whether the world can stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and limit global temperature rise to 2C in order to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. Capping 23 years of intense research, debate and negotiation, the Paris…

An Australian study published last week predicts that some rainforest plants could see their ranges reduced 95% by 2080. How can we make sense of that given the plethora of climate predictions? In a 2002 press briefing, Donald Rumsfeld, President George W. Bush’s Secretary of Defence, distinguished among different kinds of uncertainty: things we know, things we know we don’t know, and things we…

But it's a very different story today. The world's most densely populated country now collects rainwater from two-thirds of its land, recycles wastewater and is even developing technology that mimics human kidneys to desalinate seawater. "In about a lifetime, we have transformed Singapore," said George Madhavan, an engineer who has worked for the national PUB water agency for 30 years and is now communications…

It emerged as the top concern among Filipinos, even beating out concern for tensions with China over the West Philippine Sea. The China issue came in second place, with 56% of Filipinos saying they were very concerned about it. The same survey also asked about their level of concern for issues like global economic stability, cyber attacks, and terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq…

“As one of the most vulnerable regions in the world, it is important to bring ASEAN-specific issues and corresponding commitments into light,” Beatrice Tulagan, one of the Philippine delegates, said. “The Philippine team reiterated the human rights approach to climate change, emphasizing quite a number of times that one cannot reduce the most vulnerable communities to a lazy statistic and there is a moral imperative…

With the help of Altmetric, we also looked into which research articles have made the biggest splash in the news and on social media. But, as a few eagle-eyed readers pointed out to us, it seems there were some papers that were overlooked. Altmetric has now expanded their search to make sure no paper is missed. So here's our revised take on which papers have…

“Indonesian policymakers should see protecting and sustainably managing mangroves as a potential solution for climate change mitigation,” says Daniel Murdiyarso, the study’s lead author and a principal scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). “But to make progress, it is crucial that mangroves are protected and managed sustainably.” Large areas of Indonesia’s mangroves have been cleared in recent decades, but there’s perhaps…

“The fields were flooded, and so were the houses around. My summer paddy was drowned. I was going to sell the crop to pay off my debts. Now I’ll have to get another loan for the rainy-season paddy,” he said. Sagaing Region was particularly badly hit from mid-July onward, with Wuntho Dam overflowing. As other rivers, streams, dams and dykes also burst their banks…

There have been warnings about such a situation for years, but authorities in Vietnam have failed to work out measures to solve the issue. Climate change has become more serious and its adverse impacts can be seen now in the region, not just in forecasts as before. Many areas have no fresh water, and saline water has increased amid the rainy season. Other areas…

That means almost double 2010's levels of 246.8 million tons of CO2-equivalents, according to deputy director of the Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment Department, Tran Van Luong. The event reviewed the Ministry of Industry and Trade's implementation of the National Target Programme To Respond to Climate Change in the 2010-15 period. Luong noted that the energy sector contributed the largest amount, with 141 million…