“The movement to save the Himalayas will continue till the issue of our melting glaciers is incorporated into the climate change agenda,” Minister for Forest Deepak Bohara told myrepublica.com, adding, “The summiteers´ march in UN is a step in that direction. Hopefully, it will draw the attention of the head of states who will be participating in the General Assembly.” [break]
He said that although last year´s march drew heavy media attention, the real aim “was not met” as the issue of the Himalayan countries could not be included in the climate change debate.
This is the second time that the government has organized such an event. Last year, the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation spearheaded a similar march in Copenhagen, Denmark, where 33 Nepali summiteers from home and other Everest climbers from across the world, participated.
The event was held on the sidelines of the 15th Conference of the United Nations Framework for Climate Change (COP-15), held from Dec 7-18 last year in Copenhagen.
National Trust for Nature Conservation, which will coordinate the event from Nepal, has invited 10 summiteers this time, including the 20-times Everest summiteer Apa Sherpa and young two-times summiteer Dawa Steven Sherpa as representatives to lead the march.
The duo led the summiteers´ march last year as well. Nepal Mountaineering Association has picked the summiteers.
This year´s event will be co-organized by Non-Resident Nepalese Association, which will take care of the logistics support and has promised to mobilize at least 2,000 people for the event, NTNC´s member secretary Juddha Gurung said.
The event is planned under an approximate budget of $200,000. However, the World Bank and WWF have not been officially invited to support the event this time. Sources said that the finance institution and WWF will not participate in the event.
The government is also planning for a similar event during COP-16, which will be held in Cancun, Mexico in December.
PM may join the march
According to NTNC sources, there is high possibility that Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal will participate in the summiteers´ march in the UN. “Since the PM will be in New York to attend the General Assembly meeting we have already had informal talks with him and have requested him to attend the march,” an NTNC official said.
akanshya@myrepublica.com
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