Publications

Sri Lanka faces substantial challenges in managing its Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), attributed to factors like population growth, urbanization, changing consumption patterns, and fast growth of industrial and service sectors. Alarmingly, only 37% of city and district centers in the country benefit from official MSW collection services. The use of...

Solid waste management is a critical issue that affects both the environment and public health, posing significant challenges to communities and governments worldwide. In Cambodia, like in many developing nations, effective solid waste management is a pressing concern due to rapid urbanization, population growth, and industrialization. The rise in...

This document presents the methodology and findings for a national plastic waste inventory for Sri Lanka. It has been prepared as part of the project titled “Marine litter and micro-plastics: Promoting the environmentally sound management of plastic wastes and achieving the prevention and minimization of the generation of plastic wastes,”...

The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), in collaboration with its Japan National Member Organization (NMO), supported by Ministry of the Environment Japan (MOEJ) has initiated a joint research endeavor centered on Cities Transformation. The primary aim of this collaborative effort's inaugural phase is the compilation of a...

IGES Biennial Update Report (BUR) Database provides key information reported in biennial update reports (BURs) submitted by Non-Annex I Countries to the UNFCCC. According to UNFCCC COP decision 2/CP.17, non-Annex I Parties, consistent with their capabilities and the level of support provided for reporting, should submit their first BUR by December...

The low-lying Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) is a key agricultural production landscape increasingly threatened by anthropogenic stresses and climate change. Among the different threats, droughts caused by extreme events, climate change and upstream developments, affect the delta the most. This paper explores the relationship between the intensity...

Microplastics (MPs) are plastic fragments smaller than 5 mm in size that pose a significant threat to the environment and human health. They are generated from primary and secondary sources, forming a part of waste from commercial products and through the degradation of larger plastic pieces. An increasing number of scientific studies have shown...

Equity and fairness have a high significance in Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation as it is evident that disasters affect communities differently depending on their developmental levels, and social status. Any public policy or intervention on disaster risk reduction deals with communities that are at different ‘starting lines’ in...

There has been a growing concern over the occurrence of fluoride (F−) in groundwater and the impact of F− exposure on human health issues over the past decades. So, this study conducted a regional–scale assessment of the occurrence and trend of groundwater F− distribution [2014–2018] integrated with locally field–based investigations on F− exposure...

The Forest Environment Transfer Tax (FETT), a scheme similar to Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), was introduced for Japanese forests at the national level in 2019 to address the challenges of climate change and promote management mainly in privately owned forests under the New Forest Management System (NFMS). Given insufficient human and...