SciDev.Net

Biotechnology holds great promise for developing countries, but only if they build up their scientific capacity, says TWAS fellow Indira Nath.

Dryland farmers deserve more support from governments, says ICRISAT director-general William Dar.

A bottom-up approach is making locally-appropriate pesticides available to India's poorer farmers, explains Daniel Puente-Rodríguez.

Rising temperatures, which promote algal blooms and the spread of pathogens, are setting a new agenda for microbiologists, says Bernard Dixon.

Countries like Namibia cannot ignore the environment's contribution to national wealth in the face of climate change, says James MacGregor.

Debates around the potential benefits of GM crops for developing countries must be reasoned and evidence-based, says Albert Weale.

Three essays, published by the International Food Policy Research Institute, offer perspectives on the global food crisis.

Investing in detailed maps of potential cyclone damage will save lives in Indian Ocean countries, says Shishir Dube.

Preparing for cyclones can save lives, but to save livelihoods nations must also help people adapt to cyclones' impacts, says Saleemul Huq.

Disaster research can help future interventions, but urgency should never excuse exploitation of survivors, says Athula Sumathipala.

Combining statistical and physical models offers the best hope of predicting changes in local cyclone risks in the Indian Ocean, says Mark Tadross.

Home to most of the Himalayas, Nepal must be at the heart of any regional climate change initiative, says Murari Sharma.

Small island developing states should set an example by promoting a clean energy environment, says Tom Roper.

Voluntary collaboration between governments and international organisations can be an effective way to address global scientific issues, says Michael Williams.

The Saptakoshi embankment collapse at Kusaha, Nepal, on 18 August was not a natural disaster, but a man-made tragedy, says Dipak Gyawali.

A meeting of African scientists and ministers on the environment's impact on health is welcome, if long overdue, says an editorial in The Lancet.

The common image of China as a big carbon polluter belies the clean energy miracle currently underway in the country, says Wu Changhua.

Biotechnology is only one of a set of approaches needed to solve the world's problems, says an editorial in Nature Biotechnology.

Improved forecasting and mitigation strategies are essential to limiting the damage caused by tropical cyclones, says Peter J. Webster.

Training tree fellers in forest management can cut tree damage and carbon emissions from degradation, argue Francis E. Putz and colleagues.