The Third Pole | Understanding water, climate and nature in Asia

Fisheries

Bycatch almost eradicated when Pakistan’s fishers embrace different methods

A row of women, one speaking while gesturing with her hand, dressed in colourful saris against a background of rocks and grasses

gender

Three projects in South Asia putting gender at the centre of responses to climate change

Natural-colour satellite photograph taken on November 1, 2022, showing a plume of smog curling from northeastern Pakistan to the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

health

Divided by borders, Lahore and Delhi are united in smog

carbon emissions

Four South Asian cities show the way for collaborative, low-emission development

Climate finance

Opinion: The USD 9 billion pledge is a start, but Pakistan needs more than promises

forests

Opinion: US teak traders breaking Myanmar sanctions with impunity

Indian elephant bull throwing dust over its head

biodiversity

Opinion: Regional cooperation in South Asia crucial for meeting biodiversity targets

man in truck holding stacks of sugarcane

Energy transition

A sweet solution? India’s push to use sugar for fuel may create more problems than it solves

workers wearing hard hats on roof of building

Intense wildfires damage soil on the forest floor, contributing to dangerous flash floods across the mountains of South Asia

Climate disasters

Opinion: The hidden waters of the Himalayas are key to mitigating disasters

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<p>Dead trees in the Mekong River in October 2022. This was previously a living section of the Stung Treng flooded forest, a protected area recognised as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. (Image: <a href="https://andyballmedia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Andy Ball</a> / The Third Pole)</p>

Photo story

Upstream dams are drowning Cambodia’s protected flooded forest

High water levels during the dry season at the Stung Treng Ramsar site have been catastrophic for its unique ecosystem and residents

Highlights

Forest fires and flash floods in the Himalayas

Explainer

Climate disasters

Explained: How forest fires worsen flash floods in the Himalayas

Irrigation by Deep tube well is being done on transplanted rice seedlings field in Jamalpur District, Bangladesh,

Tubewell owners control the lives of millions of marginal farmers in Bangladesh’s northwestern districts. This months-long investigation reveals the devastating impacts on people across the Barind Tract

Agriculture

‘Water lords’ extort drought-stricken farmers in Bangladesh

Two blackbuck antelopes, native to India, standing a field of yellowish grass in the early morning light

From expanding conservation areas to eliminating subsidies that harm nature, implementing the outcomes from the latest global biodiversity summit COP15 is complex for India and South Asia, say experts

biodiversity

How will India achieve the new global goals for nature?

Two new pipelines being laid in late December 2022. The pipelines will connect an oil and gas field in Arunachal Pradesh to a central gas gathering station in Assam, passing through nearly 20 kilometres of protected forest.

Nearly 3,000 trees are to be felled during the construction of oil and gas pipelines in northeast India, in protected areas that are home to endangered species such as the western hoolock gibbon and white-winged duck

Deforestation

New pipelines will fragment Assam’s protected forests, say environmentalists

Video

Fragmented landscapes and fearful children: Human-wildlife conflict in Kashmir

As attacks from wild animals continue to impact rural communities in Kashmir, officials and conservationists search for ways to address habitat destruction, the root of the problem

Aaqib Fayaz

Editorial Series

Energy crisis in Asia 13 Articles

Melting ice at the Purog Kangri glacier in Tibet

hydropower

Shrinking glaciers threaten Chinese and Indian energy transitions

December 8, 2022December 21, 2022

View of wind turbines against a blue sky in Jhimpir, Pakistan

Belt and Road

Analysis: China’s shifting energy investments in Pakistan, from coal to renewables

November 18, 2022November 29, 2022

A worker carries a cylinder of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) at a gas distribution centre in Peshawar, Pakistan

climate action

Opinion: Pakistan needs immediate steps to improve energy efficiency

August 25, 2022August 25, 2022

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Diálogo Chino is the only independent journalism platform dedicated to better understanding the China-Latin America relationship and its sustainable development challenges
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China Dialogue Ocean is a bilingual platform dedicated to illuminating, analysing and helping to resolve our ocean crisis.
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The Third Pole is a multilingual platform dedicated to promoting information and discussion about the Himalayan watershed and the rivers that originate there.

China Dialogue is an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting a common understanding of China’s environmental challenges.

Diálogo Chino is the only independent journalism platform dedicated to better understanding the China-Latin America relationship and its sustainable development challenges

China Dialogue Ocean is a bilingual platform dedicated to illuminating, analysing and helping to resolve our ocean crisis.