Stories: Governance & Access

The representatives of more than 100 countries attending December’s U.N. climate conference in Bali, Indonesia, finally focused on the important role tropical forests play in global warming.

For the first time in its ten-year history, the National Environmental Appellate Authority* (NEAA) has overturned a decision by the Government of India, quashing an environmental clearance granted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Border security is not typically recognized as being tied to environmental changes, but in this recent article by The New York Times, the links are clear. It details how declining fish catches in northwest Africa are fueling immigration to Europe.

A Right to Information request in India has revealed that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for a bauxite mining project in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, was copied at least in part from a Russian EIA for a bauxite mine.

An international NGO has set an important precedent for freedom of information in Ukraine by convincing a court that a Parliamentary advisory body should be subject to national freedom of information law.

Trends to Watch is WRI’s annual forecast of emerging issues that will have major impacts on environmental coverage in 2008. On climate change: what will happen between COP-13 in Bali, and COP-14 in Poznan? What role will China play? Will we see new legislation and regulations from Congress or the EPA? Where will biofuels and technology go? Where will the water come from? WRI President Jonathan Lash makes his predictions at the National Press Club.

WRI President Jonathan Lash has been named to the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics listing by Ethisphere Magazine, a new “global publication dedicated to illuminating the important correlation between ethics and profit.” The list, which will appear in the Q4 issue available in December, recognized individuals for “inspiring change in business ethics.”

Each year, we evaluate the impact of our work in four sustainable development goal areas and announce our top ten outcomes. Each is a glimpse of what’s possible when we work together as a global community.