Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah has proposed creating a Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism involving Nepal, India and China to strengthen regional cooperation in responding to climate-related disasters in the Himalayan region.
Speaking at his first address to the 81st session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Shah highlighted the impact of recent devastating flash floods and warned that rising global temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the fragile Himalayan ecosystem.
He called for a coordinated mechanism led by the three Himalayan nations to improve climate resilience and strengthen preparedness for extreme weather events affecting the region.
Shah noted that the Hindu Kush Himalaya region supports the lives and livelihoods of nearly two billion people, providing vital water resources, ecosystems and agricultural support to communities across a wide area.
He stressed that the Himalayas should not be viewed as a remote or peripheral region, describing the mountain system as an important part of the Earth’s broader life-support system.
