Gorillas, cockatoos and frogs are among a list of threatened species to benefit from a $3.3 million aid award, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said yesterday.

The conservation fund Save Our Species (SOS), set up by the IUCN, the World Bank and others, has announced to allocate the cash to more than 20 projects.

SOS is involved in the protection of the Cross River Gorilla and Black Rhino in Africa and the Snow Leopard in Pakistan.

Traffic congestion in the capital and smoke from brick kilns are the main reasons for air pollution in Dhaka city, according to the World Bank and the Bangladesh government.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests says that vehicles in Dhaka move 14kmph on an average, which is very slow and causes them to burn more fuel and contribute to air pollution. They say the average speed could come down to 4kmph by 2025 if things do not improve.

The Jatiya Sangsad on Wednesday passed the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority Bill seeking to modernise the transport system of Dhaka city and the adjoining districts that have been experiencing severe traffic congestion for quite a while.

The bill brought the districts of Naryanganj, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Gazipur, and Narsingdi under the purview of the law by amending the Dhaka Transport Coordination Board Act, 2001.

Shimla: In an initiative backed by World Bank, the Mid-Himalayan Watershed Development Project has tied up with the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, for the standardisation of the silt-monitoring technology to help quantify the impact of watershed treatment interventions. World Bank is keen on developing a scientific model to evaluate the outcome of the programmes and projects being implemented for the rehabilitation of degraded watersheds.

The Sri Lankan Cabinet of Ministers has given permission for the government to conduct negotiations with the International Bank for Reconstruction & Development (IBRB) of the World Bank to obtain US $213 million loan for the implementation of the Metro Colombo Urban Development Project.

The President, as the Minister of Finance and Planning, has submitted the proposal seeking the financial assistance.

International Development Association (IDA) will provide dollars 250 million for Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Improvement Programme Project Phase-I, while local beneficiaries would bear dollars 173.5 million.

According to an update project report of World Bank, the project's main objectives are to improve water productivity.

Advocating the setting up of a Trans-Himalayan Development Authority for the ecological maintenance and sustenance of the Himalayan eco system, Chief Minister PK Dhumal today said Himachal would become the first carbon-neutral state in the country by 2020 by undertaking “carbon smart growth”. He was speaking at the 12th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit organised by the Energy and Resource Institute on “Protecting the global commons: 20 years post-Rio” in New Delhi today.

Thirteen drug companies, the governments of the United States, Britain and the United Arab Emirates, the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Lions Club and other smaller charitable organizations on Monday announced a joint effort to tackle 10 neglected tropical diseases in a coordinated fashion.