International conference on climate change begins in Nepal

KATHMANDU: All nations should invest in resources to limit the detrimental impact of climate change, Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari said today as she inaugurated an international conference here to draw attention towards the adverse effects of global warming in the Hindu Kush mountain range.

The four-day conference is attended by more than 300 experts from different countries of Asia including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar.

V K Saraswat, member of India's Neeti foundation is leading the Indian delegation in the conference.

President Bhandari while addressing the conference said, "The Hindu Kush Himalaya Region is the lifeline to tens of millions of people and the impact of climate change and other human activities are adversely affecting the entire region".

"I believe that it is high time that nations invest resources to limit the detrimental impact of climate change and environmental degradation rather than spend money on areas that threaten human lives and resources," she said.

The conference will further augment conservation and development efforts in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, Minister for Environment of Nepal Mithila Chaudhary said.

"It will strengthen the socio-economic well-being of communities from Myanmar in the east to Afghanistan in the west, and help conserve biodiversity and cultural diversity in the region," Chaudhary added.

The conference 'Resilient Hindu Kush Himalaya: Developing Solutions towards a Sustainable Future for Asia' is being organised by Nepal's Ministry for Environment in collaboration with International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

As Hindu Kush Himalayan region stretches from Afghanistan to Myanmar and a quarter of humanity depend for water and other resources in the Himalayas, therefore, it is important to preserve the region for the future of humanity, observed David Molden, director general of ICIMOD said.