Nepal’s Foreign Minister Calls for Urgent Action on Climate Change in the Himalayas

Inaugurating the international conference ‘Environmental Change in the Himalayan Region’, Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Arju Rana Deuba, emphasized the urgent need to address the escalating effects of climate change on the Himalayan region. The event, organized by seven institutions including the National Trust for Nature Conservation, highlighted the alarming frequency of glacier melting due to climate change.

“This is not only affecting the lives of people in the mountainous regions but also disrupting the entire environmental cycle,” Dr. Deuba remarked. She stressed that the impacts of climate change are not limited to Nepal but extend to the entire Himalayan region, creating unforeseen challenges. “The lack of water resources has severely impacted the agricultural systems in these areas, turning climate change into a matter of human survival alongside the mountains,” she warned.

Dr. Deuba referenced recent natural disasters in Nepal, such as the glacier outburst in Thame, Solukhumbu, and last year’s catastrophic floods in Kagbeni, Mustang district, both attributed to climate change. She emphasized the necessity of targeted community programs to mitigate these impacts and called for global collaboration to protect the future of the Himalayas.

“Climate change is a borderless crisis, and we must all work together to reduce its impact,” she urged.

At the event, Aang Tshering Sherpa, Senior Vice-Chairperson of the International Mountaineering Association, was honored for his contributions to mountaineering and tourism.