KATHMANDU: Minister for Foreign Affairs Shishir Khanal has stressed the need to keep conservation and resilience of the Himalayan region at the centre of global climate action.

Minister Khanal said this while addressing a high-level programme on ‘Advancing the Mountain Agenda: Glaciers, Cryosphere and Resilience Under Overshoot, Shared Responsibility and Sustainable Financing’ jointly organized by Nepal, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan and Pakistan in Antalya of Turkey on Thursday.

Minister Khanal said that although the Himalayas and glaciers were formed for thousands of years, due to climate change, they are melting at a rapid pace in the lifetime of a single generation. He said that the Himalayan region, which covers about 27 percent of the world’s land area, is the main basis of agriculture, clean energy, biodiversity and water security.

“The crisis seen in the mountains is the crisis of humanity,” he said, adding that the impact of the changes in the high mountain areas is not limited there. Its impact reaches the sea through the river system, economy and ecosystem, crossing the national border. ´

Stating that Nepal is directly suffering the impact of climate change, Minister Khanal termed the devastating floods of August 26 as a ‘Himalayan Tsunami’. He said that thousands of people have lost their lives due to the massive floods caused by glaciers and rockfall in the high Himalayan region, swept away bridges and damaged hydropower projects.

He pointed out the need of climate justice, saying mountainous and mountainous communities which have made negligible contribution to global greenhouse gas emission were facing serious consequences due to climate change.

“The rise in temperature is not only a temporary statistical fluctuation, but its consequences are permanent for the Himalayan countries. The melted glaciers cannot return to their old state when the temperature drops,” he said, adding that the communities devastated by the disaster cannot rebuild their future with words of sympathy alone. ”

Minister Khanal proposed that international efforts should be forwarded focusing on five priorities for the resilience of the Himalayan region. He said that emission reduction should be accelerated to keep the temperature rise within the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius, short-term climate pollutants such as black carbon should be controlled and the sensitive Himalayan ecosystem should be protected.

He also stressed the need to provide grant-based, predictable and accessible climate finance for Himalayan countries, including adaptation, resilient infrastructure and sustainable livelihoods.

Stating that the resources related to the compensation for climate change should be delivered to the affected communities quickly, directly and equitably, he stressed the need for increasing investment in glacier monitoring, satellite-based information systems, regional data exchange and community-centred multi-disaster early warning system.

According to him, the specific risks in the mountainous region should be given institutional priority in the UN climate change related process.

Minister Khanal also called for formalizing the Sagarmatha to Sea (Sagarmatha to Sea) partnership to strengthen collaboration, knowledge exchange and common voice among the mountain and maritime communities.

Nepal’s ‘Sagarmatha Call for Action’ has presented a clear roadmap in this direction and international cooperation should be strengthened to take the proposed UN Decade for Mountain Resilience forward.

Nepal’s Minister for Agriculture, Forest and Environment Geeta Chaudhary along with lawmakers and senior government officials participated in the program. Minister Khanal said that COP31 should be an important opportunity to take the mountain issue from the marginal issue of international climate negotiations to the center of global collective action.

“Our melting mountains can’t wait for the climate talks to catch up to reality,” he said. ´