Crushing the Margalla Hills
With every passing day, destruction of the beautiful Margalla Hills goes on with grave implications for the climate and landscape of Islamabad. For over 40 years, stone crushers have been…
Solar done right
When you turn on the lights, you probably don’t think about Canada lynx or California condors, but the connection is real. We’re crowding out wildlife. Not just in the obvious…
We cannot fail the earth
In 2008, before the climate summit in Copenhagen, I wrote the book Soil Not Oil. It was a time when the intimate connections between climate and agriculture, air and soil…
17 goals to transform the world
On September 25, the 193 members of UN General Assembly unanimously adopted Agenda 2030, titled “transforming our world”. Through this agenda commonly known as Sustainable Development Goals, the global leadership…
Houbara hunting
The Supreme Court recently reserved its verdict on the review petitions filed against the ban imposed on hunting the houbara bustard. Ever since the issue first came in the limelight…
In cold storage
When the Indian foreign secretary arrived in Islamabad recently for a routine Saarc visit, it was hoped that the stalled bilateral dialogue between Pakistan and India would resume. However, the…
Oslo creates world’s first ‘highway’ to protect endangered bees
From flower emblazoned cemeteries to rooftop gardens and balconies, Norway's capital Oslo is creating a "bee highway" to protect endangered pollinators essential to food production. "We are constantly reshaping our…
Rubber plantation brings both work and worries to Gabon
When one of the world's biggest traders of agricultural commodities went to Gabon's government with a multi-million-dollar plan to produce rubber, the authorities jumped at the chance to diversify an…
The real energy crisis
Pakistan has been reeling under energy crisis now for nearly a decade. Why cannot it put its act together? The issue is not with the generation of energy but with…
GSP Plus status: will we retain it?
Less than a year from today, the GSP Plus status granted to Pakistan would be reviewed by the EU. Pakistan had ratified the EU-specified 27 UN-ILO conventions but did little…
