Green Options » Governance

Reservation for Women in Rural Water Management in India

Govind Singh — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:27:28 +0000

Gender concern in water resources management is globally seen as instrumental in
achieving greater efficiency, effectiveness and equity in the sector. The role of women in water management has long been recognized by the Indian administration. One of the reasons for this is the importance of women in terms of their numerical strength and the significant contribution they make to the agricultural labor force.

In the primarily agricultural Indian setup, there is a strong need to encourage participation of women in even greater strength. Consequently, at least one of the states in India (and a drought hit one) has now declared reservation for women in all local water governing bodies at all levels.

Water, Israel and the Palestinian Authority: the Next Explosion?

Amiel Blajchman — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:51:12 +0000

American President Obama’s outreach to the Middle East and the Arab world at large could not have come at a better point. As tensions ratchet over Iran and its pursuit of nuclear weapons and the ever-simmering conflict between Israel and Hamas, the World Bank recently released a report criticizing the water-sharing regime between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. While the report’s release is not a bombshell, it does serve to highlight how conflicts and competition over natural resources will only contribute to regional tensions.

Zimbabwe: A Cry for the Environment

Masimba Biriwasha — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:03:43 +0000

Zimbabwe, which currently faces seemingly intractable social, political and economic problems, has some of the worst environmental indicators in the world with ecosystems either in decline or under severe threat.

Suffice to state, the country did institute some good environmental protection programmes in the decade following the attainment of independence from British rule in 1980, markedly, Zimbabwe has about half of the world’s population of black rhinoceroses, an endangered species. During that period, the government even went as far as adopting a radical policy of shooting poachers on sight in order to protect endangered animal species.

In recent years, however, Zimbabwe has experienced desertification, soil and water pollution, slash and burn agriculture resulting in soil erosion mainly caused by an unplanned land resettlement programme initated by incumbent President Robert Mugabe’s government in 2000.

Yale University’s 2008 environmental performance index (EPI) which ranks 149 countries according to a weighting of carbon and sulfur emissions, water purity and conservation practices, positions Zimbabwe at number 95 thus highlighting the grim state of the environment in the country.