Youth Dialogue on Mountains, People, and Climate: Amplifying Voices for Sustainable Futures

As the effects of climate change continue, mountainous regions like Nepal stand at the forefront of witnessing environmental impacts. Glacier retreats, altered landscapes, and erratic weather patterns are just a few of the challenges faced, posing significant risks to agriculture, water resources, biodiversity, and the livelihoods of communities both in the mountains and downstream.

Against this backdrop, Nepal is gearing up to host the International Dialogue on Mountains, People, and Climate on May 22nd and 23rd, 2024. This event aims to bring together a diverse representation of national and international stakeholders to delve into the impacts of climate change on mountain regions, explore potential solutions, and come up with strategies for adaptation and resilience.

Recognizing the important role of youth in tackling these challenges, the “Youth Dialogue on Mountains, People, and Climate: Amplifying Voices for a Sustainable Future” was organized on April 23rd, 2024. Collaboratively organized by Nepalese Youth for Climate Action (NYCA), Global Youth Biodiversity Network – Nepal (GYBN Nepal), with support from Oxford Policy Management and DAI, this event provided a dedicated platform for young leaders to express their concerns and ideas.

During the dialogue, Dr. Maheswhor Dhakal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Forests and Environment emphasized the urgent need for a multilateral approach to safeguard our mountains and stressed the importance of engaging youth in research and evidence-based decision-making.

Dr. Buddhi Sagar Poudel, Joint Secretary, MOFE highlighted the collaborative efforts of young people to tackle the crisis., emphasizing the power of collective action. Stressing the need to engage youth from diverse sectors to facilitate monitoring and tracking in the climate change management process, he reminded participants of Article 4 of the UNFCCC, which emphasizes the “consideration of mountains” but still lacks action and initiative in this regard. 

Dr. Bimal Regmi, National Council for Environmental Protection and Climate Change Management shared about how important it has now become for young people to understand their capacity and be confident in the role, responsibilities and opportunities that the nation should give them.

Dr. Popular Gentle, Climate and Environmental Advisor to the Rt. The Honorable Prime Minister emphasized the importance of meaningful representation of young people, where youth are not merely tokens but recognized as agents of change.

The session’s major outcome was drafting the youth declaration targeting the mountain agenda.Empowering youth, providing resources for their initiatives, and fostering collaboration and partnership are critical steps towards safeguarding mountain communities and combating the impacts of climate change. As the session was conducted in a hybrid modality, the voices included representation from youth in all seven provinces. To bring out and include more voices as much as possible, we will be working on the call to action further and submitting the complete version to the government before the mountain dialogue. Lastly, we young people appreciate the government’s efforts to highlight mountain issues on the international stage.