SciDev.Net

Sian Lewis explains how remote sensing can be used to manage natural disasters and highlights ongoing efforts and obstacles.

Developing nations are building their own satellites despite freely available Western data. Do the gains outweigh the costs, asks Tatum Anderson.

Nepal is using plants and modern engineering to combat the landslides that regularly plague the nation. Badri Paudyal reports.

Today's maps are sophisticated tools, helping developing countries track everything from drought to disease, reports TV Padma.

Indonesia's mud volcano has so far been both a defeat and an opportunity for scientific understanding, reports David Cyranoski.

New climate change models predict a heavy impact from global warming on Brazil's biodiversity, agriculture and health, reports Helen Mendes.

In the aftermath of the October earthquake, Pakistan is struggling to ready itself for the next big one, reports Geoff Brumfiel.

Richard Stone and Richard A. Kerr report on how the Indian Ocean tsunami warning system is gradually taking shape.

Flood-prone Asian nations are starting to share information that could help save lives but this exchange needs to be more open to be effective, reports Navin Singh Khadka.

Chandra Dissanayake describes how a novel branch of geology could have important consequences for human health around the world.

Plans to collate data from the planet's Earth-monitoring instruments could run out of funding, and not every country is keen to participate, reports Naomi Lubick.

A special section in Science magazine provides a scientific overview of last year's massive earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

African nations could harness heat from the centre of the Earth to produce electricity, reports Ishbel Matheson, but first they will need to invest in the technology.