Add to EJ Playlist  Rice hoppers are "pests" that suck rice straws dry and then die when there are too many of them. They have come to be called as "Green Revolution pests" because outbreaks of rice hoppers became out of control in the 1970s in Asian countries and threatened the success of the Green Revolution. These little insects are now drawing attention again in Asia's rice producing countries. Infestation of Brown plant hopper (BPH) and white backed plant hoper (WBPH) have been seriously damaging millions of hectares of rice paddies leading to the loss of several million tons of rice every year. Those countries include Thailand, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and surrounding countries. What is making these hoppers pests? This educational film walks the fields with rice scientists, ecologists and entomologists. Their attempts are to restore biological control to the rice ecosystem by increasing biodiversity and genetic biodiversity. Rice plant hopper (Hoppers for short) will be the guide to this documentary. By observing the underneath rice world from their point of view, one would see clearly today's agriculture going against the rules of Nature. By reviewing the history, consequence becomes visible when agriculture emphasize too much on increasing production and ignores biodiversity. Dr. K L Heong, a senior entomologist from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) breakdowns the rules of ecosystems and Nature into easy segments. So let the journey begin, the camera will discover the wonders of Nature with you.

Add to EJ Playlist  The young people in Laos would like to earn more money and embrace the material world. But most are poor and uneducated, and have few options to pursue their dreams. Crossing over to nearby Thailand as unskilled workers, they become easy prey to narcotics, crime, prostitution and HIV. Concerned community groups have recently moved in to help those affected, while others are trying to prevent thousands more from making the same mistakes. Can these efforts turn the tide? Only time can tell. Made by Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC) and TVE Asia Pacific under the Truth Talking Project in 2002.

Add to EJ Playlist  Sombath Somphone worked for 30 years to promote sustainable development through training and educating young people in Lao PDR. In 1996, he founded Participatory Development Training Center (PADETC), which he headed until mid 2012. In 2005, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award (Asia's Nobel Prize) in recognition of his efforts to promote sustainable development in Laos "by training and motivating its young people to become a generation of leaders". On 15 Dec 2012 he disappeared in Vientiane, and is believed to have been abducted. His family and friends have appealed for his safe return, but there was no news until 4 Jan 2013. http://sombath. org This video is edited from an interview TVE Asia Pacific filmed with Sombath in September 2008 for the Saving the Planet Asian regional TV series. Excerpts appeared in the Lao story that featured PADETC's efforts to transform Lao education. He outlines his vision for inclusive and sustainable development, and how digital technologies can be used to spread knowledge and education among youth, enabling them to create their own media to tell their own stories. Interview transcript at: http://www.tvea p.org/?q=0113ss d_01.htm

Add to EJ Playlist  As the World Conference on International Telecommunicati ons (WCIT-12: Dubai, UAE, 3-14 December 2012) approaches, the debate on keeping the Internet open and free has intensified. In this web video, Dr Rohan Samarajiva, Chair and CEO of LIRNEasia, an ICT research organisation, outlines his deep concerns about some current proposals to WCIT that, if accepted, can radically alter the way data moves around online. He is especially critical of a proposal by European telecom operators (ETNO) that wants Internet content providers designated as "call originators" and then subjected to a "sending party network pays" rule. That could allow operators to charge content providers with rates that vary on how graphics-rich or data-heavy the latter's content is. Internet access could then become more expensive as content providers will be forced to pass along costs. Dr Samarajiva cautions that such myopic policies, if allowed, can fragment the open Internet, and make large swaths of useful content beyond the reach of hundreds of millions of users in the developing world. For millions of people who are only just getting on the information superhighway, this can mean: 'Road Closed'. The interview, conducted by science writer and TVE Asia Pacific Director Nalaka Gunawardene, was recorded in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 4 October 2012. This is released without copyrights restrictions, allowing anyone anywhere to use it in advocacy. Read the full interview text at: http://tinyurl. com/WCIT12

Add to EJ Playlist  Mohammad Doyal uses his two mobile phones and multiple accounts (SIMs) to juggle business and leisure. The enterprising young electrician is constantly on the move, crisscrossing the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka and suburbs. One assured way clients can catch this resourceful 'fixer' is to phone him. He switches between different SIM cards and networks to save on costs. When not working, he browses the web looking up cricket and football scores, and downloading pictures, videos, animations and music. He and friends sometimes bet on cricket match outcomes: the winner receives phone reloads from the others. Mobile phones also become informal collateral when Doyal occasionally lends money to his friends. Produced by TVE Asia Pacific for LIRNEasia.

Add to EJ Playlist  J M D Berty Lionel is secretary of the Pandeniya Thurusawiya Rubber Smallholders Society in Kegalle District, Sri Lanka. By coming together as a collective, its 34 members have successfully overcome smallholder handicaps. They have invested in new technology and a smokehouse, using which they produce an average of 3,500kg of high grade (RSS1) rubber sheets every month. Quality and volume attract buyers who turn up for a monthly auction, the only one of its kind in Sri Lanka. Ahead of each auction, Lionel checks online the latest world market prices, and also monitors the prevailing auction prices in the capital Colombo. Armed with this information, the Society sets a minimum bidding price, usually met by their repeat buyers. This experience can inspire 127,200 rubber smallholders in Sri Lanka, who in 2008 produced over two thirds of the island's total rubber. Meanwhile, Pandeniya Society is grooming the next generation of leaders -- they know their future depends on building such capacity. Produced by TVE Asia Pacific for LIRNEasia.

Add to EJ Playlist  Dhammika Kumara, who runs hires on his own three-wheeler, has been using a mobile phone since 2001. It allows him to schedule and juggle multiple hires: his regular customers call him, or he calls them to coordinate. His town, Dambulla, located 100 km north-east of Colombo, is a main hub for vegetables and fruits. Many of his farmer customers trust Dhammika to deliver their produce to the wholesale market on his own. Dhammika won't move to any other telecom network as his number is his livelihood. Besides, he and wife benefit from discounts by being part of the same network. Dhammika sometimes listens to songs on his phone; his sons take photos or make videos with it. "I'm always on the phone, practically 24 hours," he says. "I just can't imagine going back to the days before I had my phone!" Produced by TVE Asia Pacific for LIRNEasia.

Add to EJ Playlist  An agricultural middleman in Samasthipur, in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, Rann Vijay Kumar regularly buys vegetables and cereals directly from farmers, which he then stores and sells to wholesalers. He relies heavily on his mobile phone: to stay in touch with both his supplier farmers and buyers, and to know the latest market prices. In his line of work, rates are agreed on the phone before stocks are moved. Before mobiles arrived, he had to line up at public phones, or pass messages around. Today, he travels less and talks more. In a good month, he can make INR 5,000 (USD 99) for himself, yet keep transaction costs low thanks to the mobile. "If all the phones in India suddenly stopped working, it will be like torture for us," he says. "All the work will stop!". Produced by TVE Asia Pacific for LIRNEasia.

Add to EJ Playlist  Poonam Devi's life has been transformed since she started using a mobile phone in 2007. It helped this housewife in Samasthipur, in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, to develop a small business as a beautician. She promotes herself and keeps in touch with her customers through the mobile. Her income - an average of INR 2,000 a month (approx USD 40) - augments what her labourer husband brings in. Her phone today is as integral as a member of her family. That's why she says: "If I lose my phone, I will lose everything - nothing will be left!" Produced by TVE Asia Pacific for LIRNEasia.

Add to EJ Playlist  In search of planetary triggers that set off the current accelerated climate change, Systems Ecologist Dr Ranil Senanayake goes back five centuries to the time before the Industrial Revolution. He argues that global warming started with the systematic removed most forests of the planet -- for timber, ship-building, wars and large scale plantation agriculture. He makes a clear distinction between fossil carbon -- coal and petroleum that captured atmospheric carbon millions of years ago -- and biotic carbon found in photosynthetic biomass in trees, corals and algae. Biotic carbon represents the sun's energy, collected by plants and available to human beings. Yet until now, no value has been placed on living (biotic) carbon; instead, only its products -- such as timber, fruits, cereals -- are valued. Recognising and valuing biotic carbon, alongside fossil carbon, would provide an economically viable way to better balance the carbon budget. Dr Senanayake, originator of Analog Forestry concept, wants the value of photosynthesis biomass to become a part of the lexicon of the United Nations climate negotiations. This interview-based video was produced by TVE Asia Pacific. It is released online under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Shar eAlike 3.0 license.

Add to EJ Playlist  With the spread of affordable telecom services, most Asians now use their own phones to stay connected. Can talking on the phone help those responding to emergencies to be better organised? How can voice be used more efficiently in alerting and reporting about disasters? Where can computer technology make a difference in crisis management? These questions were investigated in an action research project by LIRNEasia in partnership with Sarvodaya, Sri Lanka's largest development organisation. Experimenting with Sahana disaster management software and Freedom Fone interactive voice response system, it probed how voice-based reporting can fit into globally accepted standards for sharing emergency data. It found that while the technology isn't perfect yet, there is much potential. Produced by TVE Asia Pacific for LIRNEasia with funding support from Humanitarian Innovation Fund in the UK.

Add to EJ Playlist  Sri Lankans have a long tradition of community care and mutual support which helps them in good times and bad. As the people of Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa districts grapple with issues of poverty and social exclusion, a multi-partner development project has helped rekindle that tradition. The BRIDGE Project, implemented by CARE International Sri Lanka in partnership with state agencies, non-governmenta l organisations and community groups, had two broad aims. One was to reduce gender-based violence; the other was to support the growing number of women who head their own households. Ultimately, it sought to empower women emotionally, socially and economically. The project gave both skills training and livelihood support. It also enhanced awareness about their rights and how they can directly access various government services. This film revisits several participating communities as BRIDGE draws to an end. It takes stock of what has been accomplished and the remaining challenges.

Add to EJ Playlist  Sri Lankans have a long tradition of community care and mutual support which helps them in good times and bad. As the people of Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa districts grapple with issues of poverty and social exclusion, a multi-partner development project has helped rekindle that tradition. The BRIDGE Project, implemented by CARE International Sri Lanka in partnership with state agencies, non-governmenta l organisations and community groups, had two broad aims. One was to reduce gender-based violence; the other was to support the growing number of women who head their own households. Ultimately, it sought to empower women emotionally, socially and economically. The project gave both skills training and livelihood support. It also enhanced awareness about their rights and how they can directly access various government services. This film revisits several participating communities as BRIDGE draws to an end. It takes stock of what has been accomplished and the remaining challenges.

Add to EJ Playlist  There are approximately 320 medium and large dams in Sri Lanka and over 10,000 small dams, most of which were built more than 1,000 years ago. The consequences of a major dam failure in Sri Lanka can be devastating to life, property and the environment. It happened on 20 April 1986 when the ancient Kantale dam, 50 feet high and over 13,000 feet long, breached. Its waters rapidly flooded several villages downstream, killing 127 people and destroying over 1,600 houses and paddy lands. This video revisits the scene 19 years later to gather memories and opinions of the affected people and engineers involved. The video was part of a 2005 study on dam safety by LIRNEasia, Vanguard Foundation, Sri Lanka National Committee of Large Dams and Sarvodaya. Its final report asked: if there were to be a catastrophic dam failure in Sri Lanka today, is there a warning system in place to detect the failure and issue timely warnings? Have the downstream communities participated in evacuation drills and know what action needs to be taken when a warning is issued? [Full report at http://tiny.cc/ DamSafe]

Add to EJ Playlist  The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is one of 15 international research centres collectively known as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The non-profit, independent entity was set up in 1985 to improve the management of land and water resources for food, livelihoods and the environment. To mark IWMI's 25th anniversary in 2010, TVE Asia Pacific filmed interviews with most of IWMI's Board Chairs and Directors General (current and previous). This film presents excerpts from these interviews, with these intellectual leaders looking back and pondering challenges in water resource management in a crowded and warming planet.

Add to EJ Playlist  The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is one of 15 international research centres collectively known as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The non-profit, independent entity was set up in 1985 to improve the management of land and water resources for food, livelihoods and the environment. To mark IWMI's 25th anniversary in 2010, TVE Asia Pacific filmed interviews with most of IWMI's Board Chairs and Directors General (current and previous). This film presents excerpts from these interviews, with these intellectual leaders looking back and pondering challenges in water resource management in a crowded and warming planet.

Add to EJ Playlist  'If you can't measure it, you can't manage it' -- this simple yet essentially true statement applies to water, as it does for most other goods and services. One of the biggest challenges to water management is the lack of attention to systems that regularly collect and monitor data on water. In this edition of Colin's STRAIGHTtalk, Dr Colin Chartres, Director General of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) talks about the importance of monitoring and sharing of water data to improve the way in which water resources are planned and managed.

Add to EJ Playlist  In many countries, rivers are dumping grounds for large amounts of wastewater and sewage. This causes tremendous stress on the natural eco-systems in the river. While dilution can take care of some pollution, very large volumes of sewage can overwhelm river systems, eventually leading to many problems. In this edition of Colin's STRAIGHTtalk, Dr Colin Chartres, Director General of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) talks about the ecological significance of environment flows. He calls a rational management of water that sets aside some amount of water for environmental flows for maintaining biodiversity, providing freshwater and reducing the cost of water treatment.

Add to EJ Playlist  What can you do when your broadband internet connectivity slows down, making some web applications tedious or impossible? How can you measure and compare the...

Add to EJ Playlist  What can you do when your broadband internet connectivity slows down, making some web applications tedious or impossible? How can you measure and compare the...

Add to EJ Playlist  PROLINNOVA is a global learning network that promotes local innovation led by small-scale farmers in sustainable agriculture and management of natural resour...

Add to EJ Playlist  PROLINNOVA is a global learning network that promotes local innovation led by small-scale farmers in sustainable agriculture and management of natural resour...

Add to EJ Playlist  PROLINNOVA is a global learning network that promotes local innovation led by small-scale farmers in sustainable agriculture and management of natural resour...

Add to EJ Playlist  PROLINNOVA is a global learning network that promotes local innovation led by small-scale farmers in sustainable agriculture and management of natural resour...

Add to EJ Playlist  PROLINNOVA is a global learning network that promotes local innovation led by small-scale farmers in sustainable agriculture and management of natural resour...

Add to EJ Playlist  PROLINNOVA is a global learning network that promotes local innovation led by small-scale farmers in sustainable agriculture and management of natural resour...

Add to EJ Playlist  PROLINNOVA is a global learning network that promotes local innovation led by small-scale farmers in sustainable agriculture and management of natural resour...

Add to EJ Playlist  PROLINNOVA is a global learning network that promotes local innovation led by small-scale farmers in sustainable agriculture and management of natural resour...

Add to EJ Playlist  "World Challenge" is an annual competition by BBC World and Newsweek to showcase sustainable businesses and projects from around the world. This series featu...

Add to EJ Playlist  This is a showreel that includes extracts from TVE Asia Pacific (TVEAP)'s international television and video productions made between 2006 and 2009. It offer...

Add to EJ Playlist  "World Challenge" is an annual competition by BBC World and Newsweek to showcase sustainable businesses and projects from around the world. This series featu...