This study examines experiences with using the private sector to manage domestic water supplies serving dispersed populations or very small settlements in rural areas. The potential contribution from private operators is well-known for small towns. The unanswered
question is whether private operators are an option for more remote rural areas with low population density.

ADB's South Asia region is comprised of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, extending from the highlands of the Himalayas to the atolls of the Indian Ocean. It is also home to more than 600 million of the world's absolute poor, who will be most vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change.

The overall focus of this paper is to provide a base for shaping a road map for least developed and developing countries

This paper reviews the boundary concepts that have emerged in interdisciplinary irrigation studies in South Asia, particularly India. The focus is concepts that capture the hybridity of irrigation systems as complex systems, and cross the boundaries of the natural and social sciences.

This report has examined three stress factors that have the potential to decrease the supply of ecosystem services, thus reducing the chances of reaching the Millennium Development Goal 1 (MDG 1) in a sustainable way. Air pollution, energy generation and indiscriminate use of pesticides may affect provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural ecosystem services.

Countries in the Asia-Pacific are more prone to natural disasters than those in other parts of the world says this first of its kind regional disaster report launched at 4th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in South Korea.