Health & Environment

Labourers fill millet grains into a sack at a farm on the outskirts of Bangalore. Photo: AFP

Is demand for millet in India proof of its superfood status or mere hype?

Nutritionists say millets could help alleviate Indians’ common health problems such as diabetes and undernourishment.

17 Mar 2024 - 4:00PM
Chocolate Hills. Unesco last year declared the entire island of Bohol as the Philippines’ first Unesco Global Geopark for its “unique geological treasures” found in Chocolate Hills. Photo: Shutterstock

Philippines’ attractions at stake amid unclear eco-tourism project rules

Amid unclear guidelines on the protection of natural attractions in the country, activists fear more developers could gain approval to access protected sites.

16 Mar 2024 - 4:00PM
Philippine coastguard personnel inspecting seized giant clam shells in Roxas town, Palawan province on April 16, 2021. Photo: AFP

China urged to save coral reefs in Asian waters amid huge demand for giant clams

The clams are highly sought after by China’s jewellery carving industry as a result of curbs on ivory trading.

14 Mar 2024 - 4:30PM
Demonstrators protest against nuclear power plants in Tokyo on Monday, marking the 13th anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Photo: EPA-EFE

13 years after Fukushima disaster, clean-up of nuclear plant still ongoing. Why?

The decontamination of the nuclear plant is expected to take around 30 to 40 years, based on past estimates.

13 Mar 2024 - 1:52PM
An electric vehicle (EV) being charged while on display at the Bangkok EV Expo 2024 on February 11, 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE

Is Asia set for a green energy revolution powered by small solar panels and EVs?

One study shows distributed energy resources such as small solar panels could one day account for half of the region’s renewable energy output.

15 Mar 2024 - 12:30PM
A man strolls on a beach surrounded by rubble in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture on March 9, 2014, two days before the third anniversary of March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Photo: AFP

Japan braces for major quake ahead of 2011 Tohoku earthquake anniversary

Researchers warn of a more catastrophic quake, after 28 quakes were recorded since the start of March this year, with 30 similar tremors last month.

9 Mar 2024 - 4:24PM
A Filipino fisherman drying squid on his fishing boat while a Chinese coast guard ship monitors near the China-controlled Scarborough Shoal, in disputed waters of the South China Sea, on February 15. Photo: AFP

Will a UN biodiversity treaty stir more tension in the South China Sea?

The high seas pocket in the centre of the South China Sea would be good for setting up a marine protected area but could be difficult due to territorial claims.

8 Mar 2024 - 6:30PM
A red panda seen at Choyatar Community Forest, Jamuna Village Development Committee, Ilam. In Nepal, there are around 1,000 red pandas living in 24 of the country’s 77 districts, mostly in the eastern and western regions. Photo: Sonam Tashi Lama

Nepal’s poachers become protectors in drive to save ‘forgotten’ red pandas

Poaching and illegal trade are a threat to red pandas, but other risks include habitat loss from deforestation and climate change.

9 Mar 2024 - 11:50AM
Drone footage taken by the Masungi Georeserve Foundation Inc shows evidence of drilling operations within the conservation area. Photo: Masungi Georeserve Foundation Inc

Why 2 environmental groups are at loggerheads over Philippine nature reserve

Despite the energy firm saying it holds the necessary permits, conservationists say some indigenous groups living in the area have no idea of the wind project.

7 Mar 2024 - 5:41PM
 A recharge pond in a village in Kavrepalanchok district in Nepal. Photo: Jitendra Raj Bajracharya/ICIMOD

Spring revival: Nepal’s communities lead efforts to preserve water source

Infrastructure development, earthquakes and climate change are among key causes of springs drying up, with communities displaced due to water scarcity.

3 Mar 2024 - 4:32PM
The ground floor of a resort completely covered by rubble from the flood. Photo: Meenakshi J

Nepal’s 2021 floods show need for early warning systems in Himalayas

Nepal’s twin flood disasters in 2021 are examples of the havoc that climate change will increasingly wreak and highlight the need for early warning systems.

1 Mar 2024 - 5:30PM
A whale, confirmed dead by field investigation, floats in Osaka Bay in Sakai city, western Japan, on February 19. Photo: Kyodo News via AP

‘Internal Google maps are messed up’: Japan’s whale deaths stump experts

Marine biologists are trying to determine why sperm whales have strayed into the shallow and congested waters of Osaka Bay, with three having died in consecutive years.

29 Feb 2024 - 1:04PM
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on August 24, 2023. Photo: AP

More Japanese want nuclear plants to reopen ahead of 2011 Fukushima anniversary

A new poll shows that half of Japanese favour restarting dozens of reactors in the country, compared with 30 per cent in previous surveys.

4 Mar 2024 - 2:13PM
Ecologists Erika Ng (left) and Yukie Yokoyama with a reef bag of oyster shells at Changi Sailing Club. Photo: Toh Ee Ming

Can Singapore’s first man-made oyster reef shore up marine biodiversity?

Man-made oyster reefs have popped up across Australia, Europe and the US but remains a relatively new concept in Southeast Asia.

18 Feb 2024 - 10:51PM
Ravi Kant Bapatle stands in the farm at Happy Indian Village. Photo: Bhat Burhan

India’s HIV-infected children live at haven thanks to a man’s ‘happy’ mission

Ravi Kant Bapatle was inspired to set up Happy Indian Village after he witnessed the death of a young HIV-positive orphan.

17 Feb 2024 - 4:18PM
Protesting farmers take shelter during clashes with Indian police, as police try to prevent them from moving towards Delhi. Photo: EPA-EFE

Indian farmers ‘won’t give up’ protest despite heavy-handed police tactics

PM Narendra Modi has decided to defy protesters’ demands amid inflation fears, even as the protest threatens to sway the vote in an agriculture-dependent nation, analysts say.

15 Feb 2024 - 5:06PM
A Bengal tiger in the Bardia National Park, some 500km southwest of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. Photo: AFP

Is Nepal at risk of ‘environmental crimes’ over big projects in protected areas?

The new procedural document could give businesses a “free pass” to exploit Nepal’s land and natural resources in protected areas.

14 Feb 2024 - 12:11PM
Mary Jane, a retail cannabis store in Bangkok. Photo: Todd Ruiz

Thailand could face class-action suits over weed U-turn: ‘lawyers are ready’

Entrepreneurs, producers and cannabis advocates say a rollback of the laws would be ‘unfair’, hurt tourism and force businesses to go back underground.

13 Feb 2024 - 5:35PM
An Indian snake-catcher displays the fangs of a Russell’s Viper at a venom extraction centre on the outskirts of Chennai. Photo: AFP

Indian police say snake venom being smuggled for use in Chinese medicine

Indian police say increasing amounts of the toxin have been seized at the Bangladesh border en route to China for use in traditional medicines – and as a rave drug – but venom experts aren’t so sure.

13 Feb 2024 - 3:00PM
The fate of a pod of orcas was hanging in the balance on Tuesday. Photo: Facebook/合同会社ワイルドライフプロ

Japan holds breath as killer whales trapped in drift ice may have ‘escaped’

The last time a pod of whales got trapped in the ice off Hokkaido was in 2005 and ended with all nine dying.

7 Feb 2024 - 3:55PM