The 3-day workshop organized by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and International Center for Integrated Mountain development (ICIMOD) in the capital this week concluded that there is a need to better harness the potential of interdisciplinary strategies to mitigate the impact of climate change in the mountain regions of Asia. [break]
Climate experts, government officials and managers of world heritage sites in 12 mountainous countries of Asia participated in the workshop that concluded on Friday.
According to Deependra Kshetry, vice-chair of the national planning commission, it is high time to integrate the climate change agenda in overall development plans and policies of mountainous countries to accelerate cleaner and greener growth. “I hope that the outputs of this meeting would help the government to make plans and policies for lessening climate change impacts,” he said.
Axel Plathe, head of the UNESCO office in Kathmandu, emphasized that scientific approaches must be combined with education, culture and communication in order to combat climate change issues in the mountainous countries.
“Key actions should be to maintain a climate science knowledge base, address the social consequences of climate change, provide climate change education for sustainable development, and look at the consequences of climate change on tangible and intangible heritage,” he said.
Meanwhile, Director General of ICIMOD David Molden stressed for not only trans-disciplinary but also trans-boundary cooperation for sustainable ecosystems and enhanced wellbeing of mountain men, women, and children. “We have to work together for resilient mountain development for improved and equitable livelihoods through knowledge and regional cooperation,” he said.
The workshop, which also aimed to help shape the formulation of global strategies to strengthen polices on mountain ecosystem, pointed out a number of strategies for collaboration across disciplines and borders. This includes improving human wellbeing in marginalized mountain communities by unlocking the potential of payment for ecosystem services and encouraging governments to ensure that the benefits of mountain goods and services are equitably shared.
Various studies have warned how rising temperatures across the globe have accelerated the melting of Himalayan glaciers, affecting the lives of around 1.3 billion people living upstream and downstream of the Hindu-Kush-Himalayan region.
Climate change is said to have triggered changes in rainfall and weather patterns and climatic system, among other phenomena, which are being observed more prominently in mountainous countries including Nepal. According to a report published by ICOMOD in 2011, 21 percent of Nepal´s glacial areas have depleted over the last three decades.
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