Nepal is paying a direct and devastating price through the loss of its mountains and the lives of its citizens for the carbon emissions produced by major industrial nations around the world.
Nepal contributes less than 0.1 percent to global warming, yet human-induced tragedies are occurring repeatedly from Thame in Solukhumbu to Bhotekoshi in Rasuwa.
“Our main weakness is not having our own satellite that can be immediately utilized during a disaster, and the inability to use available technology to make timely decisions,” said Dr Basanta Raj Adhikari, an expert in multi-hazard risk assessment.
He added, “The problem is not only the lack of advanced technology, but also the lack of mechanisms with neighbouring countries for the immediate exchange of information regarding disasters.”
Experts say Nepal must present itself to the world as a victim of climate disasters and urgently internationalize the issue of climate justice.
Dozens of glacial lakes situated within Nepal’s major river systems are at risk of bursting.
According to a study conducted by ICIMOD and UNDP, 47 glacial lakes across Nepal, Tibet and India are listed as potentially dangerous, with 42 of them located in the Koshi Basin alone.
It was alarming that the glacier responsible for the devastation in Bhotekoshi was not even on the list of glaciers identified by scientists.
Conflicting statements from agencies of the two neighbouring countries regarding the origin and cause of the Bhotekoshi disaster highlight the huge gap in cross-border information exchange.
The devastation occurring time and again as a result of climate-related hazards has now compelled Nepal to champion the agenda of its rights and climate justice on the international stage.
Climate change expert Batukrishna Upreti said, “A major problem in Nepal is not implementing the warnings of experts, even though they have been raised in international forums. A national institution like ICIMOD is needed to conduct studies and research.”
Although Nepal raises the issue of climate change in international forums, it has failed to diplomatically advance the issue by making rights and compensation a central agenda.
Nepal has continued to suffer due to a lack of concrete initiatives on the international stage.
Climate expert Dr Dharmaraj Upreti warned, “If no action is taken regarding investment and management in this area—where one ‘bomb’ has already gone off—dozens more are hanging over our heads.”
The displacement of an entire village due to a glacial lake outburst in Thame and the massive loss of life and property in the Bhotekoshi region caused by the bursting of a colossal glacier from the Tibetan side are not mere coincidences. They are manifestations of climate devastation driven by the carbon emissions of developed countries.
Geologist Dr Ranjan Kumar Dahal views the incidents of glacier outbursts in the Himalayas not as ordinary occurrences, but as evidence of the complexities emerging in the region.
“The current incident is also a consequence of global warming; some might say it is premature to say so, but we must now internationalize these issues,” he said.
