Importance of Africa has increased manifold in the current geopolitical climate. In particular, the three Asian economies China, Japan and India have adopted a more muscular approach, as the resource rich continent features high on their global agenda. Given the three countries are in competition for influence, both within Asia and beyond, they are keenly investing in Africa’s infrastructure, energy and development sectors, seeking growth as strategic partners and markets. The Asian alignment for Africa comes at a time when the US has adopted a more isolationist approach and the African economies are bearing the brunt of commodity price fluctuations, […]
Category: development
Energy Policy Making for Optimal Resource Management
The global oil demand is expected to remain healthy for the next few years, especially in the developing countries of Asia and Africa. Though currently suffering from a slowdown due to the US-China trade war and the rise in renewable technological innovation, one cannot simply write-off oil or for that matter any other conventional fuel like coal or gas, as it forms an integral part of the new energy mix of many nations (both developing and the developed) even today, which deploy tools of policy making for the purpose. However, the new energy mix, of the present age, brings the […]
Building an Inclusive Bio-Economy
The global community, in light of increased geopolitical tensions, economic crisis, magnified disparities, global warming and other socio-economic incidents, has realized that the current fossil fuel based-economic model is not a viable one. Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals, then, can be viewed as the global response to this problem. There is now a general consensus regarding the introduction of biomass fuels and renewables as part of the economic model, which will enable nations to progress on the path to an inclusive sustainable development- in other words introduce a bio-economy. What is Bio-Economy? Conspicuously, world’s basic commodities are derivatives […]
Integrated Planning is Vital for Sustainability
There is mounting evidence pointing towards the contribution of urban centers in global climate change, extinction of flora and fauna and large scale pollution. They indeed are counted as the main source of green-house gas emissions, especially in light of the economic, social and cultural activities of the human population which have failed on the sustainability parameters. This calls for an integrated planning which entails land management and developing potential means for mitigation of the biodiversity and environmental loss. To begin with, UNDP and UNEP define integrated development planning as an approach that simultaneously advances multiple benefits across the three […]
Public Health Policy and Climate Change
Health, since eons of centuries has been subject to environmental events and influence. In the current scenario too, the fluctuating climate patterns world over are marked by heat waves, thunderstorms, heavy rainfall, floods, rise in sea level, glacier melting, extended droughts, more intense storms like cyclones, hurricanes etc. all are capable of posing as a challenge to the health policy of nations and individuals. While climate change has been recognized as a global threat, it is important to realize the health risks it poses; and equally important for the governments of the world is also to prepare themselves for the […]
India & Green Economy
The last few years have been tough for India, not just in context of economic reforms but also environment— specifically in terms of climate. As per the India Meteorological Department, 2017 was the fourth warmest year of the country, with the last quarter of 2017 being the hottest since 1901. In the beginning of the 20th century, India, a British colony then, suffered from significant climate change marked by severe droughts and famines, which were further fueled by fatal British economic policies. Notably, India’s economic backwardness wasn’t due to any niggardliness of geography, but was rather anthropogenic. There was no […]
Protectionism, Migration and Environment
In recent times there has been a rise of protectionist policies and revisionist states. Democracies have increasingly being voting for nationalist leaders, in order to escape globalization and its extended upshots — increased immigration, unemployment, job competition, better revenues etc. However, one should remember globalization has been taking place for eons of centuries and it is here to stay. Simply closing your economy, enhancing tariffs or plugging the migration trend will not help. With technological advancements and innovations, the world is interconnected and interdependent more than ever. Established trade links, or formation of new ones for that matter, serve as […]
Impact of Climate Change on Migration
Usually, migration is understood as a movement of people, in context of various social, economic or political developments. All of which though true, discount the role of environment in larger scheme of things here. From time immemorial, the dynamics of society have been deeply engraved by the climatic dispositions of the environment. Whether it is the way one dresses, what one eats or for that matter even the way a deceased would be put to rest— in other words, local culture is deeply influenced by the environmental forces. Often, migration is thought to have stemmed from the quagmire of non-development. […]
Opium and Geopolitics
Opium poppies have been of much value to the world since the neo—lithic age. Today though it acts as a gargantuan ulcer in the belly of the very earth, dismantling regimes and transforming the power dynamics. It has the ability to support both—State and Non-State actors. If earlier, they were cultivated for food, anesthesia, and ritual purposes today it is a powerful mechanism for the transfer and control of wealth, power, terror and governance. This is especially true in Asia and Europe with the famed drug—led “Opium Wars” between Britain and China. Back in the 19th century, the balance of […]
Energy: A Basic Human Right
Energy is the key element which connects society, politics, and economies to the environment. Without natural resources the mankind would cease to exist. In present times, it is an inalienable part required to run our day—to—day lives seamlessly, particularly in form of electricity. It serves as a catalyst for the growth story of developing societies and economies. This, accompanied by rise in advanced technologies and innovative practices, further adds value to the otherwise constantly evolving standard of living. It ensures upliftment of the society from the clutches of poverty, hunger, water crisis, diseases etc.; along with economic progress and an […]