By Antoaneta Bezlova

SHANGHAI, Jun 7 (IPS) - Few people in this city ever imagine that their future would be defined by the ocean's rising tides. Dire climate change predictions have failed to stir public imagination into conjuring up images of China's most forward-looking city being engulfed by seawaters.

By Max Martin

THRISSUR, Kerala, Jun 1 (IPS) - Andrews Ambrose never misses a chance to share the wisdom he gained from 40 years of life as a fisherman on this coastal strip. He has to his credit two books and a map of the seabed.

By Antoaneta Bezlova

BEIJING, May 23 (IPS) - China is emerging as a new backer of massive dam projects around the globe, giving rise to fears for pristine natural resources and the cultural heritage of river peoples.

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, May 18 (IPS) - For the past 11 years, Scott Sharpe, a diver from Hawaii, has been exploring the undersea world off the coast of the Philippines. It is the beauty of that country's marine life that drew him to the archipelago.

Yet increasingly, there are disturbing signs underwater. ''Everyday, the environmental stress on the marine life increases,'' says the 51-year-old owner of the Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium. ‘'One of the reasons is because of the impact of global warming caused by forests being cut.''

By Feizal Samath

COLOMBO, May 8 (IPS) — As Tamil militant planes flew sorties over the national capital last week, the attention of political leaders were diverted from a worse disaster unfolding on the ground — flash floods, attributed by scientists, to climate change.

By Soma Basu

MADURAI, Tamil Nadu, May 5 (IPS/IFEJ) — The carved granite pagodas that dominate this town in southern Tamil Nadu state have earned it a place on UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites. Less noticeable, though, are the vast reservoirs that once took care of the water requirements of this millennia-old cultural centre.

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

KHUN SAMUTCHINE, Thailand, May 3 (IPS) - The sound of waves from the nearby sea is no comfort for the chief abbot of the Buddhist temple in this fishing village in the Gulf of Thailand.

   It is a constant reminder of the peril that awaits the temple, Wat Khun Samuttrawachine, built in 1967, from an encroaching sea. ‘'This temple is always under threat from the sea; during the monsoon it is worse,'' says Phra Somnuk Atipanyo in a quiet tone.

By Marina Kozlova

TASHKENT, April 24 (IPS/AWW) – Happy days are here again for caviar lovers worldwide as the export ban meant to protect the sustainability of this prized delicacy has been lifted recently. But environmentalists are not optimistic, saying that the ban and its subsequent lifting did not really make a dent in the illegal harvesting and sale of caviar.  

By Stephen Leahy

BROOKLIN, Canada, Apr 11 (IPS) - An investigation has revealed that the U.S. supplier of sushi to more than 6,000 restaurants is associated with a Japanese company that sells millions of tins of whale meat.