Weeks after massive floods ravaged Nepal, killing over 1,400 people, prime minister Balen Shah called for the establishment of a Himalayan climate resilience system, led collectively by India, China and Nepal.
In his maiden address to the 81st session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Shah brought attention to global warming and how it is destabilising the fragile Himalayan ecology.
"The Hindu Kush Himalaya is home to nearly two billion people. These mountains provide water, ecosystems, agriculture and livelihoods to populations far beyond Nepal. The Himalayas are not peripheral to the planet. They are part of the planet's life-support system," Shah said.
"That is why, as an urgent first step, we propose that we establish a Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism, led by Nepal, India and China," Shah said.
Nepal's proposals for the new system
The Nepal PM also listed his proposal for what the new climate resilience system would be doing - share satellite data and expertise, monitor dangerous glacial lakes and strengthen joint early-warning systems.
{{/usCountry}}The Nepal PM also listed his proposal for what the new climate resilience system would be doing - share satellite data and expertise, monitor dangerous glacial lakes and strengthen joint early-warning systems.
{{/usCountry}}"And when disaster strikes, let us coordinate assistance across borders. Let the Himalayas become a laboratory of international cooperation, rather than a frontier of fragmented information," he said.
He also highlighted how global warming is melting permafrost which is fracturing mountain slopes beneath the glaciers and accelerating the risks of ice-rock avalanches, floods and landslides.
‘Flawless logistics for war, broken ones for food’
It has not even been one month since Nepal bore witness to massive flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the country's border with Tibet. Scores of homes in towns and villages in northern and central Nepal were washed away, with over 1,400 deaths and nearly 6,000 still missing.
In his UN address, Shah lamented how the world lacks enough infrastructure for natural disasters but remains remains steadfast in its arms supplies.
"We have built a world with flawless logistics for war and broken logistics for food.
"And this is not Nepal's private misfortune. Ask Bangladesh. Ask Bhutan. Ask India. Ask the Maldives. Ask Pakistan. Ask Sri Lanka. Ask any other country in our region and you will hear the same account: hit by the climate we did not warm, and hit again by the wars we did not start. This tells us there is a lot more broken than meets the eye in the present order of global cooperation," he said.
Balen Shah told the UN that Nepal now faces a massive task of recovery and reconstruction. Rapid assessments peg physical recovery needs at about 10 percent of GDP, he said.
He also thanked India, China and other countries for assistance in time of need.