
Science and Development Network
News, views and information about science, technology and the developing world
Producing enough food for a rapidly growing population, and taking care of our planet are two of the world's biggest challenges.
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Bhutan's National Environment Commission is an autonomous agency mandated to oversee environment policies, issues and laws, and coordinate inter-sectoral environment programmes in the country. The commission monitors the impact of development on the environment and aims to put in place the necessary controls, regulations and incentives to private and public sectors to achieve sustainable development through judicious use of natural resources.
IMD provides weather bulletins and warnings against extreme events like cyclones. Cyclone warnings include weather outlooks for the North Indian Ocean and maps of both the observed and predicted cyclone track. The IMD website also gives background details on individual projects, including the department's cyclone monitoring and warning dissemination systems. Information on the expected impact of cyclones of varying intensities — and recommendations for mitigation — is provided. The site also links to archives of satellite and rainfall data.
The NNRMS is an inter-agency network for integrated natural resource management in India. It uses remote sensing data combined with other data to provide inventories of natural resources for applications such as infrastructure development, environmental monitoring and disaster management support.
NNRMS publishes information about the country's earth observation satellites, overviews of its work and a biannual bulletin with news and information about key projects.
NASA's Landsat satellites provide one of the most important remote sensing data archives for a host of environmental applications, including disaster monitoring. They have been collecting multispectral data at a moderate spatial resolution for over 35 years.
Last year (2008), NASA made access to all Landsat data free. The website links to the free data and provides information on how to use them as well as a selection of images, tutorials and educational resources.
NASA's 'hurricane resource page' provides the latest storm images and data available from NASA together with a tropical weather outlook for the Atlantic Basin. NASA has also published educational tools, including posters and classroom activities that are free for anyone to use. The website includes background information on hurricanes such as fact sheets, lists of satellite instruments used for hurricane monitoring and explanations of how hurricanes form and develop.
The Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) produces, documents and coordinates agricultural research in Nepal. It aims to help the government with policymaking and finding solutions to agricultural problems in the country.
The website publishes free-to-access publications including books, journals as well as guides on writing scientific papers. A list of NARC's research projects is available, as well as links to relevant organisations, events and job vacancies. The website also provides PDF links to information about Nepal's agricultural policies.
Nepal's Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology overseas functions relating to science and technology in the process of national development and aims to create a conducive environment for the proper development of science and technology. Its main goals are to promote sustainable development, preserve the quality of environment — including air, water and soil — identify new technologies through environmental research, and promote indigenous technologies.
This website provides information on the Ramsar Convention of Wetlands of International Importance, an intergovernmental treaty that provides guidance for member countries' efforts to maintain the ecological character of wetlands and plan for their sustainable use. The website provides an overview of the convention and access to official documents including technical and management guidelines. It also makes available related publications such as handbooks, conference proceedings and reports, as well as news, activities, photographs and a list of useful contacts.