By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Dec.25

Experts at an interaction here Thursday suspected climate change hastened the breach of Koshi Embankment.

Speaking on ‘Challenges of Climate Change and the Role of Media’ organized by Asia Journalist Association (AJA) Nepal, senior journalist and press advisor to President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav Rajendra Dahal said that climate change contributed to the breach of the Koshi embankment in August this year.

"Creation of a hill on the western bank of the river that was discovered while digging a channel in the riverbed supports this claim," he added.

Dahal also said that though developing countries like Nepal have not contributed to the climate change, they are suffering from it for no fault of their.

The participants also urged for the need to generate awareness among the people about the impact of climate change in human life.

Addressing the programme, Minister for Environment Science and Technology (MoEST) Ganesh Shah committed to support the media persons in their endevour to raise make people aware of the risks of climate change.

Terming the issue of climate change as the most important aspect of human life, Minister Shah said everything from forest to river come under this.

The government, stakeholders and journalists should give a top priority to the issue of climate change due to its direct link with life, he further said.

The government can do little if the journalists do not take this issue to the public, he added and urged youths to raise the issue of climate change as a national agenda.

Secretary at the Ministry of MoEST, Umesh Mainali said that it was difficult to formulate effective policies and programmes on climate change due to lack of adequate knowledge.

He further said that the scientists were studying the causes and effects of climate change in the world but no such study had been carried in Nepal.

"The climate change has affected not only the life but also caused reduction in the productivity and change in the rainfall patterns," he said.

More than 2 billion people would be deprived of drinking water and some hydropower projects would be damaged if the present trend of global warming is not checked, he warned.

Batu Krishna Uprety, under secretary at the MoEST presented a paper on the climate change and shared his experiences that he gained in the 14th Session of Conference on Climate Change held in Poland during the first week of December.

He said that the high-level segments should focus on experiencing impacts of climate change, increase in temperature and snow melting, need to accelerate development to reduce poverty, promoting low-carbon development pathway, community forest and carbon credits.

The interaction was chaired by Bishnu Nisthuri, President of AJA Nepal, that was set up by a group of professional journalists a few months ago with an aim of promoting peace, democracy, human rights and working in the field of climate change.

AJA Nepal has been recognised as Nepal Chapter by South Korea based Asia Journalist Association.

In his conclusion address, Nisthuri committed to help manage any programme of the government on climate change.