Kathmandu, Dec 6: Former President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said that all should unite to combat the climate-induced crisis and to reduce the climate change impacts.
In her address to the final dissemination workshop of the research on ‘Assessing Households’ Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change in the Diverse Socio-Cultural and Geographical Landscape of South Asia’ organized by the Central Department of Geography, Tribhuvan University, in Kathmandu on Thursday, Bhandari said climate change has emerged as a significant global challenge, affecting both the environment and human lives with far-reaching consequences.
“Although industrialized and developed nations are primarily responsible for greenhouse gas emissions—the major driver of climate change—countries like Nepal are among the most vulnerable to its adverse impacts,” the former President said.
According to Bhandari, the situation has created an urgent need for mountain nations, including Nepal, and island countries, which are disproportionately affected, to come together to advocate for climate justice.
In Nepal, climate-induced disasters such as floods, landslides, wildfires, and droughts have caused extensive loss of life and property over the past decades and agriculture is severely impacted.
She was of the view that adverse effects are increasingly evident across sectors such as socio-economic development, public health, biodiversity, water resources, tourism, energy, and infrastructure.
Rising global temperatures have led to the melting of snow, turning our majestic mountains into barren landscapes, she added.
She was of the view that climate change has exacerbated poverty and social inequalities, disproportionately impacting vulnerable groups like poor farmers and marginalized communities.
Likewise, Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission Dr Shivaraj Adhikari said that countries like Nepal were impacted on their Gross Domestic Production (GDP) due to the severe climate change impacts.
Similarly, Vice Chancellor of Tribhuvan University Prof Dr Keshar Jung Baral voiced for further research works on climate change issues since its impacts have resulted in rise in temperature, monsoon-related disasters, migration, food insecurity and several others.
Also speaking at the event, Professor Dr Prem Sagar Chapagain of Central Department of Geography, TU, said that the research carried out by the researchers from five universities of Nepal, India, China and Bangladesh has shown that foreign labour migration has increased due to reduced agricultural productions because of the climate change impacts. #climate #rss #nepal
