22 July 2025, Kathmandu

Stakeholders, including the parliamentarians, have strongly emphasized the need for meaningful youth engagement inentrepreneurship, green economy, and technological literacy while involving them in climate change and social campaigns. Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Monitoring and Evaluation of the Implementation of the Directive Principles, Policies, and Obligations of the State, Hon. Thakur Prasad Gaire, stated that as global temperatures near a 2°C rise, glacial melting is already affecting
ocean levels, making climate change and disasters a shared global concern. He
emphasized the importance of raising awareness among youth, adolescents, and
children about these risks, and pledged his commitment to engaging youth in the
pursuit of climate justice. Highlighting the severe impact of carbon emissions from
developed countries on Nepal, he noted that global warming is threatening human
existence. With these he also shared that preparations are in the final phase to
establish a regional parliamentary committee in Asia to foster unified efforts in
addressing climate change.
MP Garima Shah warned that Nepal could soon face a food shortage, as the
country has been forced to declare the Terai region drought-affected even during
the monsoon and the crucial rice-planting season. She attributed the declining
water table to poor development practices and stressed the need to revise the
nation's development plans, policies, and strategies.
MP Sita Rana, head of the Parliamentary Forum for Child Rights, emphasized that
disasters caused by climate change affect people of all age groups. She called for
awareness from the local level to reduce inevitable disasters through collective
action.

MP Ranju Jha emphasized the importance of youth engagement in disaster risk
reduction planning and the need to promote youth-led climate action starting from
the local level. She added that meaningful youth participation in policy-making is
more important than simply having large numbers of youth in various programs, in
fact, such participation should be made mandatory.
Climate researcher Amrit Devkota presented a paper on the overall impact of
climate change and disaster risks in Nepal. He emphasized that climate change is a
global issue and called for continuous advocacy at local, national, and international
levels to achieve climate justice. He urged parliamentarians to make climate change
and disaster risk a political priority, positioning themselves as champions of the
cause. He also encouraged them to support youth-led initiatives and promote
meaningful youth engagement in disaster risk reduction.
National Planning Commission Member Hon’ Prakash Shrestha said that the 16th
Five-Year Plan prioritizes to climate issues and emphasized that collective effort
and unity are needed to implement it well.
Vice Chair of the National Youth Council, Surendra Basnet, shared that Youth
Vision 2035 is currently being developed and reaffirmed the Council’s commitment
to giving priority to climate change and disaster management and YFLG.
Senior Divisional Meteorologist Dr. Indira Kandel explained that rising
temperatures are causing mountain melting, leading to GLOF, floods and landslides
in Nepal. She noted the installation of 500 rain gauges across the country to
improve disaster information sharing, along with 250 water gauges and weather
radars to monitor and reduce flood-related damage. She also shared that, the
data from water and rainfall measurement instruments, information is being shared
with the aim of reducing the loss of lives and property due to floods in coastal
areas.
Bhaba Raj Regmi, Deputy Secretary-General of the NGO Federation of Nepal,
advocated for planned green economy programs to create employment for youth
within the country.
Bimala Aryal, Mayor of Sunwal Municipality, shared that Sunwal Municipality is
Nepal’s first child- friendly Local Governance and is actively conducting climate
awareness campaigns that have positively influenced local youth.

All these commitments were made during a Policy Dialogue program entitled
“Ensuring and Promoting Meaningful Youth Participation in Disaster Friendly and
Climate responsive Governance was organized by the Jagriti Child and Youth
Concern Nepal (Jcycn) in support of British Council. The event was chaired by mr.
Tilottam Poudel, president of Jcycn which was began with a welcome from British
Council Country Director Mr. Rustam Modi, who shared his happiness about
partnering with Jcycn to help raise awareness among young people about climate
change, a challenge the whole world is facing.
The event brought together more than 70 participants, including 20 members of
parliament (17 from the House of Representatives and 3 from the National
Assembly) representing eight different parliamentary committees, youths, CSOs,
UN agencies, and development partners. These MPs pledged to raise climate change
and disaster-related issues in Parliament. The event also saw active participation
from members of the National Youth Council, development partners, local civil
society organizations, and youth climate activists.
Ms. Sabnam Sunar, a peer educator from Jcycn, added a creative touch to the
program by presenting a poem on Climate Governance and Youth-Friendly Local
Governance.
Mr. Paudel, President of Jcycn, shared that the organization has conducted
awareness programs and training on climate change and disaster issues with youth
and adolescents in Madi, Sunwal, Madhyabindu, and Tilottama municipalities with
the support of funding partners UNDP, British Council, and Kanallan. He also
highlighted Jcycn’s experience working with 14 local governments across all seven
provinces, and its ongoing advocacy for Youth Friendly Local Governance (YFLG),
Child Friendly Local Governance (CFLG), Nutrition Friendly Local Governance
(NFLG), and girls’ empowerment.
During the event, Kala Basyal from Sunwal Municipality handed over a memorandum
to MP Thakur Prasad Gaire and other participating members of parliament. The
memorandum outlined 11 key points, including the need for inclusive disaster
response, climate-responsive governance, meaningful youth participation, youth
empowerment, allocation of resources for youth-led initiatives, and youth
involvement in policy-making. In response, MPs such as Bina Lama, Tara Lama, Bijula
Rayamajhi, and Ranju Kumari Jha, along with others, expressed their commitment
to raising these issues in Parliament and the National Assembly, and pledged their
continued support for these important matters.