Cities must lead the clean energy drive, says report

22/09/2017 0 Comments read Environment & Development

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 22.09.2017 (SciDev.Net): Cities must lead access to clean, affordable and uninterrupted energy since urban growth and living standards intensify per capita energy use in developing countries, says a new report.

Released on 7 September by the World Resource Institute (WRI), the report highlights fundamental energy challenges facing cities in the global South. It also noted that poor urban households often spend 14 – 22 per cent of their incomes on energy.

The study’s lead author, Michael Westphal of WRI’s Ross Centre for Sustainable Cities, says that cities can implement three practical solutions to meet

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Women Bear the Brunt of Violence in Papua New Guinea

29/07/2017 0 Comments read Environment & Development, Features, Gender, Health & Science

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) chief official in PNG, Mark Kessler speaking to Foreign Correspondents in Sydney. Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 29.07.2017 (IDN): Violence is one of the most pressing issues, especially in the highlands, of Papua New Guinea (PNG) – one of the world’s most ethnically and linguistically diverse nations.

“Increased access to high-powered guns such as military style M16s and home-made shotguns, and the breakdown of traditional rules of warfare, has amplified the effects of violence, resulting in dozens – if not hundreds – of violent deaths and thousands of displacements each year, especially in the Highlands,” says International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) chief official in PNG, Mark Kessler. ”We are seeing wounds that one would see in war zones.”

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Gender Equality Will Be Key to Achieving SDGs in Viet Nam

27/04/2017 0 Comments read Environment & Development, Features, Gender

Pham Thi Kim Viet, a tour guide, shows visitors the map of Huế, a city in central Vietnam which was the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty emperors. Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Ha Noi/Hoi An (Vietnam), 27.04.2017 (IDN): Pham Thi Kim Viet is up before the rooster heralds the crack of dawn. The rice in the cooker is beginning to boil as she tosses freshly chopped vegetables and fish in a wok. She then hurries to wake her two daughters, 12 and four years old. At 7am, dressed in laundered uniforms, she drops them at school on her trusted old scooter and proceeds to Hoi An, 30km from her home in the mountains of Dai Loc district in central Vietnam, to report for work as a freelance tour guide.

“Each day is a struggle to make ends meet. I work between 10 and 12 hours a day during high tourist season to earn US$20. During low tourist season, there is very little work and I constantly worry about paying bills and putting food on the table”, says Viet, who has been coping with mental and financial abuse from her husband. The physical violence ended, when he moved out, but he drops in anytime, sometimes to demand money.

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