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Agriculture & Environment: Natural disasters

Features

Here is a list of the latest articles

Damage from the 2004 tsunami

Snakes and folk tales meet science in disaster warning

Indigenous knowledge and science often seem poles apart, but meshing them can curb disaster risk, reports Smriti Mallapaty.

21 November 2012 | EN | ES | FR

Early warning systems

Early warning of disasters: Facts and figures

Lucy Pearson looks at early warning systems for disasters, their uses and limits, and what accounts for the gap between warning and action.

21 November 2012 | EN | ES | FR

Yuan Tseh Lee

Q&A: Yuan Tseh Lee on achieving sustainability

Yuan Tseh Lee, president of the International Council for Science, tells SciDev.Net what scientists must achieve at Rio+20.

26 March 2012 | EN | ES

Polluted city, China

Why city resilience will be an issue at Rio+20

The cities account for more than three quarters of emissions of CO2, are home to half the world population and will be 'highly visible' at Rio +20.

Source: SciDev.Net Conference Service

15 December 2011 | EN | ES

A satellite image

Summit eyeing global sharing of environmental data

A preparatory meeting for the Rio+20 summit will discuss open access environmental data with a focus on biodiversity, water, oceans, cities and disasters. Yojana Sharma reports.

Source: SciDev.Net Conference Service

9 December 2011 | EN

Mekong Delta

Locating climate, population hotspots

Researchers are combining data in new ways to identify who is most vulnerable to climate change and population growth.

Source: Nature Climate Change

11 October 2011 | EN

Daya Bay nuclear power plant

China urged to take technological risk more seriously

The recent nuclear scare in Japan has reinforced pressure in China to raise its awareness of the risks of new technologies. Li Jiao reports.

12 August 2011 | EN | 中文

Building damaged by earthquake

Q&A: Will GEM make earthquake risk more manageable?

As International Day for Disaster Reduction nears, Rui Pinho, who leads the Global Earthquake Model, talks to SciDev.Net.

11 October 2010 | EN | ES

Cracked earth at edge of lake

Water security and climate change: Facts and figures

Climate change will affect the water security of developing countries. Lucinda Mileham explores their priorities as they struggle to cope.

15 September 2010 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

Wheat stem rust

The race is on to stop the red menace fungus: Ug99

As Ug99, the deadly fungus blighting African wheat, marches eastward, scientists across the globe are scrambling for ways to outsmart it.

Source: Wired

30 March 2010 | EN

The Nyiragongo volcano

Keeping an eye on Congolese volcanoes

Scientists in the Democratic Republic of Congo don't have the resources to monitor the country's volatile volcanoes adequately.

Source: IRIN

19 February 2010 | EN

Remote sensing for natural disasters: Facts and figures

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

11 November 2009 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

Climate change — adapting is crucial too

Climate change is a reality in developing regions, who say the international community must not neglect better adaptation strategies.

4 September 2009 | EN

High winds during cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, May 2008

Cyclones in the Indian Ocean: Facts and figures

Greg O'Hare explains the what, why, when and how of cyclones, and reviews their effects in South Asia.

8 October 2008 | EN | FR

Flooding in Vietnam

Vietnam employs novel technology in flood battles

Vietnam is protecting flood prone areas with barriers that make use of innovative technology.

Source: IRIN

22 August 2008 | EN | 中文

Lightning during a night-time thunderstorm

Striking back: lightning in the developing world

Scientists are battling to stop damage and death caused by lightning strikes in the developing world, reports Anuradha Alahakoon.

29 August 2007 | EN

Landscape and road, Nepal

Landslide victory: Bioengineering in Nepal

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

16 August 2007 | EN

A car caught in a dust storm in Beijing

Getting to the root of killer dust storms

Dust storms in China have been increasing, but a project in Bayinhushu shows how to reduce them, reports Dennis Normile.

Source: Science

24 July 2007 | EN | 中文

Satellite imaging has revolutionised mapping

Digital mapping shows the way forward

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

6 March 2007 | EN

Mud flow in East Java, Indonesia

The murky waters of Indonesia's mud volcano

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

Source: Nature

22 February 2007 | EN | 中文