GEOSOURCE: biweekly digest 2: 19990918-19991001

in the news: release of UNFPA's "The state of the world population 1999: 6 billion - a time for choices"

The state of the world population 1999: 6 billion - a time for choices

http://www.unfpa.org/swp/swpmain.htm

Full text of the United Nations Population Fund report released this Tuesday highlighting Earth's 6 billionth inhabitant to be born October 12, this year, 19990924

in the news: opposition against plans to further heighten the Sardar Sarovar dam in the Narmada river, Gujarat, India

Friends of the river Narmada

http://www.sardarsarovardam.com/

Website supporting grassroots protest against dam building and forced migration of thousands in villages which will be submerged by the river Narmada. With daily press releases, recently on people refusing to leave the area of the Sarovar dam and their arrest, 19990923

International Rivers Network (IRN): Narmada Campaign

http://www.irn.org/programs/narmada/index.html

Campaign protesting against the dams on the river Narmada by this international organisation protecting river environments and striving for decommissioning of dam building projects. With map of the area, 19990923

Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd.

http://www.sardarsarovardam.com/

Site of the dam developers with information on the construction and offical information on rehabilitation of displaced population and environmental measures, 19990923

in the news: west Taiwan earthquake of 7.6 on Richter scale
Earthquake Bulletin
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/990920174719.HTML
In its Earthquake Bulletin, the United States Geological Survey gives the seismological facts of the earthquake in Taiwan, 19990921

Category I: sites by subject
World Development Report 1999/00 (access to full text, in PDF) and back issues 1992-1998
http://www.worldbank.org/wdr/2000/index.html http://www.worldbank.org/wdr/previous.htm
This year's World Development Report, a World bank publication, the twenty-second in this annual series, examins the processes of "globalization and localization—the integration of the world economy and the increasing demand for local autonomy"; includes 21 world comparative tables, 19990927

Global Environment Outlook 2000 (GEO 2000)

http://www.unep.org/unep/eia/geo2000/

UNEP Report relaesed 19990915. Full text available in PDF. Also has further information on the GEO project and products (regional reports, report for the youth). The major outcome is that "distinct environmental gains and improvements will probably be offset by the pace and scale of global economic growth". 19990923

International Critical Geography Group (ICCG)

http://econgeog.misc.hit-u.ac.jp/icgg/

Forum for critical and radical geographers, set up in 1997 at the first conference. This site holds information on international and regional meetings, a bulletin board and a mailing list. It also has a resolution supporting those who oppose conservatism in the Japan Association of Economic Geographers, inlcuding a long article by Neil Smith on globalization and conservatism of the national associations of geographers, 19990921

self description: "The International Critical Geography Group (ICGG) is comprised of geographers and non-geographers committed to developing the theory and practice necessary for combating social exploitation and oppression. We have formed this international association to provide an alternative to the increasingly institutionalised and corporate culture of universities. We believe that a 'critical' practice of our discipline can be a political tool for the remaking of local and global geographies into a more equal world."

Category II: sites by country/region

Community Atlas

http://www.esri.com/industries/k-12/atlas/index.html

Project to encourage teachers and students to make descriptions and maps of (US) American communities. These will be posted on a central website managed by ESRI, the GIS producer, 19990923

Frank's Korean Studies Page

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~hoffmann/

Gateway to everything Korean: news, specialists, discussion lists, organisations, calls for papers, statistics etc, by Frank Hoffmann, Harvard University, USA, 19990927

Seoul municipality (capital and largest city of Korea)

http://www.metro.seoul.kr/

Best Places

http://www.bestplaces.net/

Best places allows for easy popular comparison of large numbers of mainly use cities. It provides ratings of the quality of cities as "places to live, work, play or retire". You can compare any two of 1000 cities on 30 characteristics (climate, crime, tax, health, education etc.). You can also get detailed climate statistics for 320 U.S and over 1700 non-US cities. Finally it let's you compare crime rates in any two of 2500 US cities, 19990928

NIBR (Norwegian Institute for urban and regional research)

http://www.nibr.no/Index.htm

Oslo based public research institute, with a special branch for research on the remote North of Norway, 19990922

ODIN (Official documentation and information from Norway)

http://odin.dep.no/html/english/

fficial govenment information pages on Norway. Provides access to government departments and information for visitors and business, 19990922

Gulf/2000 Project

http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/

Gateway to news and reference information on eight countries of the Persian Gulf region--Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, by School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University in New York City, USA, 19990920

Category V: professional organisations

United States - Association for Community Design (ACD)

http://www.communitydesign.org/index.htm

Korea (South) - Kyungpook - Kyungpook National University - College of Social Science - Department of Geography

http://rose0.kyungpook.ac.kr/~geo/english.htm

Germany - Arbeitskreis geographische Informationssysteme

http://www.akgis.de/

Germany - Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft Vorderer Orient (DAVO)

http://lambada.geo.Uni-Mainz.DE/davo/

International - European Landscape Architecture Network (eLAN)

http://www.landscape-architecture.com/

Germany - Bund deutscher Landschaftsarchitekten (BDLA)