Kathmandu, November 27

District Coordination Committee Federation will be organising a national climate summit in disaster-struck Sindhupalchowk district from December 30 to January 1.

The summit will focus on formulating and implementing a climate plan, attracting investment from donors to confront climate change issues and drawing the attention of the national and international spheres to the issue, said Sindhupalchowk District Coordination Committee Chief Krishna Gopal Tamang.

The Sindhupalchowk DCC chief added that participants of the summit could also observe first-hand the impact of climate change at Guphadanda of Melamchi Municipality in Sindhupalchowk district, which serves as the primary source of water for the national pride project — Melamchi Water Supply Project.

Interacting with journalists in Kathmandu today, Tamang said climate change issues would be raised at the national and  international levels through the summit.

According to Tamang, the summit will focus on ways to minimise the effects of climate change, develop an adaptation plan, make an integrated plan for agriculture, water resources, tourism, forest and biodiversity, among other areas. “At the end of summit, the climate change adaptation plan’s declaration will be made public,” Tamang said.

The summit will be inaugurated by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and will see the presence of chief ministers of provinces, ministers and lawmakers from the federal as well as provincial levels, chief and deputy chief, members of District Coordination Committees, donors and mediapersons, among other stakeholders.

Tamang said several papers related to impact of climate change on glaciers, tourism and agriculture, among other areas, would be presented. “We have been facing consequences of developed countries’ emissions,” Tamang said.

“Whoever attends the summit will also observe the impact of climate change at the programme venue Guphadanda in Melamchi Municipality of Sindhupalchowk,” Tamang added.

“We would like to draw national and international attention to issues related to climate change at Sindhupalchowk as it is a disaster-prone district. For instance, take Jure landslide, Bhotekoshi flood and the huge damage caused by the 2015 earthquakes.”

The participants can see Jugal and Gaurishankar Himalayan range and views of Sindhupalchowk, Kavrepalanchowk, Kathmandu and Nuwakot from Guphadada, which used to be a dense forest about a decade ago but now is arid, said local youth Mankaji Tamang. According to ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leader Jhamak Nepal, people can see several issues related to climate change in Sindhupalchowk.