Nepal to host Sustainable Summits to discuss mountain environment, climate change impacts

Published On: February 27, 2020 03:40 PM NPT By: RSS

KATHMANDU, Feb 27: The Sustainable Summits Conference, the fifth edition of its kind, is being held in Nepal from 1-5 June this year to showcase the country’s mountain environment, highlight climate change issues and bring international attention to Nepal’s mountain tourism.

Organizing a news conference here today, the organizers said that Sustainable Summits Conference 2020 is aimed at honoring mountain voices and promoting increased understanding of the Himalaya as an “abode of the Gods”.

It will provide a platform for issues from the Hindu Kush Himalaya region to be discussed, debated and consolidated to influence policy and to have a unified voice in other global arenas, said a member of the organizing committee Lisa Choegyal.

It is said that discussions will be held on the measures to strengthen tourism to the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, learn and share global best practices and explore opportunities for national and regional cooperation.

The event would be organized by Nepal Tourism Board and Visit Nepal Year 2020 Secretariat as the lead organization and as a key VNY 2020 activity, and Climate Alliance of Himalayan Communities as the conference organizer.

The four main themes of the conference are mountains nurturing communities; sustainable mountaineering – the Everest factor; development pressures – balancing local priorities, conservation, and tourism and tourism, trade and regional cooperation – promoting economic, ecological, and geographical connectivity.

The day program features a range of relevant speakers, particularly focusing on Nepali, international and Hindu Kush Himalayan presenters with experience from Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan.

Former Prime Minister of New Zealand and former Administrator of UNDP Helen Clark will be delivering the keynote address while veteran mountaineers Sir Chris Bonington and Reinhold Messner will be the speakers at the conference, according to Choegyal.

During the program today, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Dr. Dhananjaya Regmi, Coordinator of VNY Suraj Vaidhya, the conference organizing committee members Ang Tshering Sherpa, Dr. Ganesh Gurung, and Dawa Steven Sherpa shared their ideas on the preparations of the conference.