KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 20
Jagat Khatri was only 17 years old when he got an opportunity to receive journalistic training on the effects of global warming and disaster management and how to tackle such issues. Two years after the training, Khatri is now a well-known campaigner for environment protection in Surkhet district.
Jagat, who was delivering a speech today on Learning Sharing and Closure Workshop held by Promoting Inclusive Resilience and Accountability through Youth Association Strengthening, not only shared his story about how his team was successful in reaching out to the public to spread awareness about global warming and disaster risk management, but also mentioned how they were successful in convincing local leaders about formulating plans and policies related to the issues at the local level.
"We work for three major municipalities of Surkhet district.
We often meet local leaders to help them formulate laws regarding how to tackle global warming and handle disaster management, meet stakeholders to discuss how to mitigate the problem and talk to local people about taking precaution and fighting climate change. I know it cannot be done overnight, but I believe if we continue to raise awareness and exert pressure on the government, we will make our world a better place," Jagat said.
Jagat is one among dozens of volunteers associated with various organisations working on several other environmental issues through the support of PRAYAS.
As per UNDP Kathmandu, Nepal is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, ranking fourth in terms of its vulnerability to climate change, 11th in terms of its vulnerability to earthquakes, and 30th in terms of its vulnerability to floods. These disasters disproportionately affect women, children, youth, people with disabilities, and marginalised groups.
With the aim of reducing these risks, the European Union supported Voluntary Service Overseas Nepal which implemented the project PRAYAS to tackle the issue of climate change and disaster risk reduction.
The VSO Nepal was also supported by other organisations such as Association of Youth Organisations Nepal, Friends Service Council Nepal, and Association of Community Radio Broadcasters. PRAYAS also employed different youth-led civil societies to promote inclusive approaches to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
The initiative also aims to improve coordination among stakeholders and provide the tools, knowledge, and skills needed to develop more resilient communities. By prioritising the participation of youth and marginalised groups in policy-making, implementation, and development processes, PRAYAS aims to create a more inclusive and effective approach to address the challenges posed by climate change and natural disasters in Nepal.
The PRAYAS project also helped government officials by capacitating in Climate and Disaster Resilience processes, and accordingly, Local Disaster and Climate Resilience Plan and Ward Disaster and Climate Resilience Plan were prepared with the participation of the local government, local stakeholders, and local youths, as per VSO Nepal.
The initiative also aims to improve coordination among stakeholders
A version of this article appears in the print on December 21, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
