Friday, 28 October 2016

October 2016:15-30 (FORTNIGHTLY) GM, BRICS and Climate Issues

October 2016:15-30 (FORTNIGHTLY)
  (15-30)  October 2016 (पाक्षिक)
GREEN      FEATURES

                                                     - जलवायु संकट, पारिस्थिकी
                                                     - प्रदूषण                
                                             - आदिवासी विमर्श
                                              - कृषि और किसानी
                                        - जल दर्शन
                                                    - देशज ज्ञान और स्वास्थ्य
                                     - विविध



source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-gm-farmers-miffed-with-centre-2267440

GM Special issue


INDIA : We dont need GM Mustard, support us with better market price: Farmer groups


Oct 25, 2016

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Pope Francis slams biotech industry and GMOs on World Food Day


Other environmental concerns apart, GM mustard could also send bees buzzing away

Farmers fear the impact of genetically modified mustard


Calls Grow for Reevaluating GM Mustard, Release of Data – As Do Protests


Government warned of national stir if GM mustard approved


NDTV story on Sarson Satyagraha

Nitish Kumar formally appointed JDU President - National Council passes a resolution against GM crops

Many States skip meet on GM crops
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/many-states-skip-meet-on-gm-crops/article9252468.ece
Messing with mustard

  

 Govt tells SC it won’t release GM mustard without court’s nod
Govt, however, opposes the plea filed by environmentalist Aruna Rodrigues seeking prohibition of open field trials and commercial release of GM mustard

New Delhi: The Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday that it will not release genetically modified (GM) mustard without the court’s nod.
It, however, opposed the plea filed by environmentalist Aruna Rodrigues seeking prohibition of open field trials and commercial release of GM mustard.
“GM mustard will significantly reduce the import of Canola oil,” the government’s top law officer Mukul Rohatgi told the court.

The application was filed in an ongoing case by Rodrigues. On 7 October, the court had asked the Centre to hold the release of GM mustard for 10 days…………………….

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ASHOK B SHARMA

Leaders of the group of emerging economies, BRICS, are meeting in Goa and India being the host country has rightly planned and outreach programme with the leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral and Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). The initiative of inviting regional leaders for outreach programme began with South Africa in the 5th BRICS summit, followed by Brazil by inviting Latin American leaders in the next summit and subsequently Russia invited leaders of SCO and Eurasian Union at Ufa summit. The practice has given an unique opportunity to the leaders of BRICS that constitute Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and represent four continents to interact with regional leaders of the host country.
India took over the BRICS presidency from February 16, this year and Prime Minister Narendrabhai Damodardass Modi has rightly planned an outreach meeting with the BIMSTEC leaders from five South Asian countries and two South-East Asian neighbours. Prime Minister Modi had planned integration of South Asian countries by inviting the leaders of SAARC nations at his oath-taking ceremony in 2014. He announced priority to the South Asia in his Neighbourhood First policy. However, later the initiative did not fructify much with Pakistan posing as a roadblock. 
Signs of cracking in South Asian integration were evident in the 18th SAARC Summit in Kathmandu where three slated agreements, namely on motor vehicle cooperation, railway connectivity and cooperation in electricity trade could not be signed at the venue. However, the agreement on electricity cooperation was signed with the intervention of the host, then Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala at the Retreat of Leaders at Dhulikhel. Subsequently, under sub-regional cooperation mandated by SAARC Charter, an agreement on motor vehicle cooperation was signed amongst Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN).
The 19th SAARC Summit slated in Islamabad had to be deferred owing to reported ceasefire violation along India-Pakistan border, terrorist attacks on Indian air base at Pathankot and army base at Uri. New Delhi had to avenge these attacks by conducting surgical strikes on terrorist's bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan pulled out of the SAARC Summit followed by Sri Lanka. Afghanistan and Bangladesh have also alleged Pakistan time and again for export of terror.
Integration of South Asia has, thus, become a dream for some sceptics. They believe that SAARC's march towards a common customs union and an economic union would continue to remain a distant possibility for times to come. The SAARC Free Trade Area (SAFTA) already in operation has not met with much success as the official intra-regional trade remains around $22 billion a year, though trade through unofficial channels continue unabated. If the figure of unofficial trade is added up to the official, the total may be around $60 billion. This shows the potentiality of the region.  
South Asia is the third largest economy in terms of GDP on the basis of purchasing power parity after the US and China. It hosts 21 per cent of the world's population on three per cent of the global land mass. Though the trade relations between both have improved in the recent years with Pakistan commerce ministry moving from positive to negative list for imports to facilitate entry of more Indian goods, still much needs to be desired. Over a decade back India had accorded the most favoured nation (MFN) status to Pakistan in matters of trade, but the latter has yet to reciprocate. Islamabad was thinking of giving non-discriminatory market access (NDMA) to Indian goods and at the same time is yet to allow Indian goods to pass through its territory to reach Afghanistan.
The big question is, for how long will the South Asia integration be held to hostage? Is there a way out? Yes. India which is a major country in the region shares borders with all countries with the exception of Afghanistan, which shares its borders with Pakistan. Hence, New Delhi should play a more proactive role in deeper integration of South Asia and work out the plans with all the countries that share the same borders. Regarding, integration with Afghanistan, India should explore the possibility of using Chabahar port in Iran to reach goods and services to Afghanistan by rail and land route. Rightly this possibility is being explored. Regarding, Maldives, India and Sri Lanka a sub-regional cooperation can be worked out under SAARC Charter similar to that of BBIN.
However, BIMSTEC that consists of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and two ASEAN countries like Myanmar and Thailand can supplement SAARC's regional integration and act as an effective bridge between South Asia and South-East Asia. …………………

8th BRICS Summit Goa Declaration


Talks on cross-border terror, India-China rift to be in focus at BRICS Summit

Goa Prepares for BRICS Summit With Added Security and Mobile Connectivity

pzeople’s forum discusses grassroot level issues of brics countries


BRICS failed to challenge imperialism: Medha Patkar

BRICS Leaders Discuss How to Shape Global Trade, Finance
(BRICS Leaders Vow to Speed Global Recovery, Fight Terrorism)

India pushes WTO members to accelerate work on outstanding Doha Round issues
India seeks a final solution for public stockholding programmes for food security

The Guardian view on climate change: good news – but not yet good enough

Panel 9: Future Polities/Economies

Radical Ecological Democracy: Towards 2050




An onerous task ahead
The Paris Climate Agreement is set to enter into force, but without the support needed to implement it

2016 drought special report from india:
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G20 needs to be an action team: Xi

Realising energy sector targets

Report: Connecting Smallholders to Markets: An Analytical Guide
http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/cfs/Docs1516/cfs43/CSM_Connecting_Smallholder_to_Markets_EN.pdf





http://epaper.jansatta.com/926332/Jansatta.com/4-September-,-2016#page/13/2

 

Milk from Tasmanian devils could fight superbugs: Study

Scientists find that marsupials have more protective peptides than humans
Mother’s milk from the marsupials known as Tasmanian devils could help the global fight against increasingly deadly “superbugs” which resist antibiotics, Australian researchers said on Tuesday.
Superbugs are bacteria which cannot be treated by current antibiotics and other drugs, with a recent British study saying they could kill up to 10 million people globally by 2050.
Scientists at the University of Sydney found that peptides in the marsupial’s milk killed resistant bacteria, including methicillin-resistant golden staph bacteria and enterococcus that is resistant to the powerful antibiotic vancomycin.
The researchers turned to marsupials like the devil — which carry their young in a pouch after birth to complete their development — because of their biology.
The underdeveloped young have an immature immune system when they are born, yet survive growth in their mother’s bacteria-filled pouch.
“We think this has led to an expansion of these peptides in marsupials,” said University of Sydney PhD candidate Emma Peel, who worked on the research published in journal Scientific Reports from Nature publishing group.
“Marsupials have more peptides than other mammals. In the devil we found six, whereas humans have only one of this type of peptide.
Koalas too?
“Other research in other marsupials has shown that tammar wallabies have eight of these peptides and opossums have 12,” said Peel, adding that studies into koala’s milk had now started.
The scientists artificially created the antimicrobial peptides, called cathelicidins, after extracting the sequence from the devil’s genome, and found they “killed the resistant bacteria... and other bacteria”.
They are hopeful marsupial peptides could eventually be used to develop new antibiotics for humans to aid the battle against superbugs. — AFP





Video: Flawed Global Rules in Agriculture: Need for a New Approach
Sophia Murphy, from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) speaks with Newsclick on how for the past 20 years, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) has failed to address basic inequities in world agriculture. Subsidies, dumping of agriculture products by the North and market concentration continue unabated. The current crisis at the WTO, the emergence of bilateral and mega Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) such as the Trans Pacific Agreement (TPP) have further complicated the urgent issue of fundamental reform of agriculture trade rules. What is urgently required is a new framework for global agriculture that embraces principles of agro-ecology, remunerative prices, sustainable livelihoods and ecological sustainability. We need reforms and subsidies that benefit peasants, not agribusiness.   


The gap between rich and poor States

Sedition explained: Criticism without incitement to violence isn’t violation of Section 124A


Indian scientists unlock preterm birth mystery



G20 meet: What role does the Sherpa play in the negotiations?
Who is this negotiator at international Summits such as the ongoing G20 meeting at Hangzhou? What role does the Sherpa play in the negotiations?

India to US: Will not tighten IPR rules beyond TRIPS mandate


India committed to SAARC, but needs terror-free atmosphere: MEA


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