Nyheder – Asia

More tropical plastic bans: The popular tourist destinations Hawaii and Thailand now join the growing group of states that has decided to ban a range of single-use plastic.

Girls need to be older to marry: In a move to curb child marriage, Indonesia has raised the minimum age for marriage from 16 to 19 years.

Schoolgirls fight tuberculosis: Since 2016, organised Pakistani schoolgirls have helped diagnose more than million tuberculosis patients and referred them to treatment.

Rare crocodile hatches new eggs: The hatching of 100 eggs brings new hope to the critically endangered gharial-crocodile. Every egg counts, as there are only 1000 adult crocodiles left.

Tiniest deer still exists: The Vietnamese mouse deer was believed to be extinct, but the world’s smallest deer has now been observed again. The deer grows to the size of a small cat.

Better fishing in Thailand: The EU has withdrawn a ‘yellow card’ to Thailand, because the country has cracked down on illegal fishing and poor working conditions that were exposed in 2015.

Australia halfway to green power: For the first time, Australia has surpassed 50 percent green power in its energy grid for a short while. It’s expected to become more and more common.

Return of rare river dolphin: The endangered Irrawaddy river dolphin is now doing better in Cambodia. Since 2015, the number of dolphins has increased from 80 to 92.

India plants millions of new trees: In August, India planted 220 million trees in just one day. The planting is part of a plan to improve the environment and fight climate change.

Cleaning up Mount Everest: Nepal has now cleared 10 tonnes of trash that mountaineers left on Mount Everest. The rubbish has been sent for recycling.

LED sheds new light on India: India is currently replacing ten million streetlights with LED bulbs. The investment is to pay for itself in just seven years, thanks to electricity savings.

Toilets for everybody in Nepal: According to the prime minister of Nepal, the country has now achieved universal sanitation. All 77 districts report that they have ended open defecation.

Poor families get cleaner cooking: Since 2016, India has installed gas for cooking in the kitchens of 80 million poor households, helping them avoid harmful smoke from open cooking fires.

Cleaner air in India: In just four years, the air has become markedly cleaner in the Indian megacity of Delhi, helped by a ban on burning trash in the streets.

No more measles in Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka has now managed to completely get rid of the children’s disease measles. The island nation vaccinates nearly every child against the disease.

More tigers in India: The tiger population in India has increased by 33 percent since 2014, according to a new report. There are now almost 3000 tigers in India’s 50 tiger reserves.

Developing nations embrace vaccines: Countries such as Rwanda, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan now vaccinate more then 90 percent of young women against HPV. In Denmark, only 65% get the vaccination.

India close to toilet goal: In only five years, India has come close to its goal of providing proper toilets for all. In 2015, 550 million Indians lacked toilets. That’s now 50 million.

Real identity for refugees: More than 250,000 Rohingya refugees have now been registered, giving them a legal identity that increases safety and can make it easier for them to return home.