Feature Article

Indian garbage It is common knowledge that India's informal recycling system, run by hundreds of thousands of unrecognised and exploited ragpickers, is highly efficient. This is why the calorific

Hardness is an important water quality parameter especially when water is used for drinking purpose. Hardness of water is attributed to the presence of alkaline earth cations like calcium, magnesium, strontium and barium.

This study uses a contingent valuation method and multiple linear regression techniques to determine the factors that could affect the willingness to pay for solid waste collection and disposal services of householders residing in the squatter and low-cost flats in the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Using the 1994 Bolivian Integrated Household Survey, this study analyzes the equity implications of urban water sector reform including both increased water prices and increased access to piped water. Household water expenditures are examined by income decile, and low-income households are found to spend a higher percentage of income on water than high-income households.

Definitions and indicators play an important role in determining success. In the context of the Millennium Development Goals, the global target of reducing the proportion of population without access to improved sources of water is expected to be met. A major contributor to success is India, where the proportion of population with access to water has increased from 68% in 1990 to 86% in 2002.

Contrary to expectations, fishing countries have established relatively effective management plans for a few international fisheries. The model described in this article explains how such multilateral regulation can evolve in spite of strong political and economic barriers to cooperation.

Malnutrition is the underlying cause of half of under-five child deaths. So even though the proximate cause of children dying may be measles, diarrhoea, diphtheria, jaundice or malaria, the real reason is that they are so weakened by malnutrition that their small bodies are unable to withstand infection. Half of Uttar Pradesh's children (52%) were malnourished when the last National Family Health Survey (1998), the second, took place; half of them (47%) are still malnourished according to the latest NFHS (2005-6), the third.