Environment | WPN World People News

With an increasingly unpredictable climate and rising numbers of natural disasters, the need for accurate and actionable data for the project of building resilience is growing. In response, the World Bank has launched the Open Data for Resilience Initiative (OpenDRI) Field Guide, a practical manual for governments and other organizations aimed at setting foundational standards for the open source creation and communication of disaster and climate change information.

LSB Industries Inc. (LSB), the largest merchant manufacturer of concentrated nitric acid in North America, and four of its subsidiaries have agreed to reduce harmful emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by meeting emission limits that are among the lowest for the industry in the nation at plants in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Justice announced.

Draft EU rules that would require EU member states to clamp down on illegal waste shipments within the EU and to non-EU countries were backed by the Environment Committee on Wednesday. These rules, informally agreed with EU ministers, would close legal loopholes and entail more inspections. Member states would have to include in their inspection plans a minimum number of physical checks, and inspectors would be given more powers.

Draft truck design rule changes, to allow designers to make it easier for drivers to see pedestrians and cyclists and improve bodywork streamlining to cut pollutant emissions, were backed by Transport Committee MEPs on Tuesday. The rules would allow designs to exceed current maximum length and weight limits in order to improve performance in these areas.

The Netherlands is a global pioneer in water management with a long history of containing flood risks and reclaiming land from the sea. Yet it will need to adapt its water governance policies to meet the looming challenges of shifting demographics, regional development and climate change, according to an OECD report.

A new study finds dramatic new thinning in the Greenland ice sheet in a region that was considered stable until now.

Ministers from some of the world’s largest fishing powers, including the EU, the US and Japan, gathered at a high-level international conference in Greece, reiterated commitments to reduce global fishing capacity and to ensure accurate information on fishing is readily available, including through the creation of a global record of vessels.

Verdiana Msuya and her daughter sieving cereals to remove soil/impurities, Mangio village, Mwanga District, February 2014.

Sargassum habitat