In a world grappling with rising food insecurity, nutritional imbalances, and environmental degradation, understanding the dynamics of the food environment is paramount. The intricate interplay between our food choices, the physical surroundings where food is acquired and consumed, and the broader social, economic, and political forces at play shape our dietary patterns and influence the sustainability of our food systems. Understanding the dynamics of the food environment is not merely an academic pursuit; it is an urgent call to action, a quest to unravel the complex interplay of factors that shape our dietary habits and determine the fate of our […]
Category: resource management
Importance of Food Policy
Food policy is crucial for countries and global society as it plays a pivotal role in ensuring food security, promoting sustainable agriculture, and fostering economic development. It encompasses a wide range of measures and strategies aimed at regulating and guiding the production, distribution, and consumption of food. Effective food policies can contribute to addressing various challenges such as hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and environmental degradation. Importance of Food Policy for Countries Ensuring Food Security: Food security is a fundamental human right, ensuring that all people have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food at all times to meet their dietary needs […]
Understanding Water Diplomacy
Water diplomacy recognizes that water is essential for life, economic development, and environmental sustainability, and that its equitable and sustainable management is crucial for social stability and peace. By fostering dialogue, building trust, and promoting joint problem-solving, water diplomacy seeks to find inclusive and sustainable solutions to water-related issues, ensuring that the needs of all stakeholders are considered and conflicts are minimized.
Earth Day- Past & Present
The earth day is commemorated on 22nd April world over with several events. Every year, it comes as a reminder of things that have come to be and things that can be with respect to environment, and what can we as earthlings do to protect our earth better. This year’s theme is “protect our species” with the agenda of raising awareness about rate of extinction of species. The earth day celebrations were first initiated in 1970 by a US Senator from Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson. He proposed the initiative after having witnessed the enormous oil spill of Santa Barbara, California in […]
Geopolitical Realities of Resource Rich Africa (Part Two)
One of the salient aspects of the African geopolitics, as discussed in the earlier post, is the covetousness of African natural resources. Both the global powers and the emerging powers are interested in getting access to these African riches (environment resource), which in turn determines the nature of political relations between the countries and individual African States. However, natural resource richness can also lead to disparities within states threatening to hamper any kind of cooperation. As such, there are two factors influencing this fragmentation: Natural distribution of resources, making some countries more affluent than others. For instance, Africa is well […]
Africa: Playground for Asian Powers
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, […]
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 […]
Tibetan Plateau: Ecological Anchor of Asia
The importance of Tibet to the world’s geopolitical events is much understated. Often relegated to as the China issue, it holds enormous geopolitical and environmental significance, especially in context of Asia. As a geographical region, Tibet is a rich bed of minerals, water bodies and energy resources. It has often been referred to as the ‘Water Tower of Asia’ given that there are 10 river systems originating here, and is also considered the maker of Asian Monsoons. Chinese geologists have discovered more than 130 minerals like uranium, boron, lithium, iron etc. in Tibet. No wonder then China’s Great Leap Forward […]
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 […]
Climate Security in Times of Energy Insecurity
There is a surge in energy demand world-over, which is increasingly still being met by conventional fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas. (Coal is the king in Asia-Pacific, at least till 2040). In last few decades, this has led to serious implications in form of increase in carbon dioxide, methane and carbon monoxide in the atmosphere, resulting in rise of temperature. With rise in global warming, the countries are now fast looking out for ways to reduce their carbon footprint, and most of them targeting their energy basket. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has in its […]