BaYu Sambaad: Centering children and youth in climate agenda

More than 100 children and young people from across Nepal convened in Kathmandu today for the Balbalika tatha Yuwa (BaYu) Sambaad, a children and youth-led national dialogue on climate action ahead of the international Sagarmatha Sambaad. With nearly half of Nepal’s population under the age of 24, the event underscored a powerful reality: children and youth are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, and they are calling for concerted and urgent climate action.

Jointly organised by the Government of Nepal and United Nations Nepal including UNICEF, FAO and UNDP with a consortium of youth networks, namely Nepalese Youth for Climate Action, Mountain Youth Hub, World Food Forum Nepal, Global Youth Biodiversity Network and Clean Energy Nepal, the event placed children and young people at the centre of the climate conversation. Representatives from the government, civil society, development partners, private sectors, media and climate experts joined the dialogue to listen to, learn from and stand with young people.

“Climate change is not a future concern, it is today’s reality”, said 20-year-old Nischal Bhatt. “We, young people, have the passion and power to bring change," he said, adding," We urge for an enabling environment where we can contribute to a climate just and resilient society”.

Despite contributing the least to climate change, children and youth bear the brunt of its consequences from exposure to extreme heat, heavy rainfall, climate induced disasters, polluted air and water, to increased health risks, poor nutrition and learning disruptions. In Nepal, climate change has been linked to a rise in vector-borne diseases, food insecurity and school closures, all challenges that disproportionately impact children.

“Every child has the right to grow up in a safe and healthy environment. Yet, climate change threatens children’s rights every day,” said Dr Alice Akunga, United Nations Resident Coordinator to Nepal ad interim. “But today’s Sambaad proves that children and young people are not just victims - they are powerful agents of change. Their voices must shape our climate response at every level.”

The BaYu Sambaad featured an exhibition of child- and youth-led climate solutions, video show, expert sessions on climate resilience, and two intergenerational panel discussions. The first explored the impact of climate change on essential services like education, health and water . The second aligned with the themes of the upcoming Sagarmatha Sambaad – scheduled from May 16 to 18 – highlighting the connections between climate change, mountain ecosystems and the future of humanity. The Sambaad also included testimonies of children, adolescent and youths from across the Nepal.

A key outcome of the BaYu Sambaad is a declaration developed by the participating children and youth, outlining their demands, commitments and proposed actions for a more climate-resilient Nepal. This declaration will be submitted to the Sagarmatha Sambaad Secretariat ahead of the Sagarmatha Sambaad, ensuring the perspectives of children and young people directly inform Nepal’s climate policy, including the development of the third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and preparations for COP30.

“Nepal is proud to be a global leader in putting youth and children at the center of our climate commitments,” said minister of Forests and Environment Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri, chief guest at the event. “Our second NDC already reflects this, and is among the most inclusive globally in terms of the needs of children and youth, and we are committed to making NDC 3.0 even more so," he said, adding that the BaYu Sambaad is an essential platform to translate  young people’s voices into action – in policy, in practice, and in our path toward a greener, more resilient Nepal.

Chair of the programme Dr Rajendra Prasad Mishra, Secretary of the Ministry of Forests and Environment, praised the initiative led by children and young people and stated that the conclusions from the BaYu Sambaad would guide Nepal’s policies and plans.

Nepalis to become old without becoming rich

Nepalis are going to become old without becoming rich despite plethora of opportunities and possibilities of development in the country.
Nepal has not been working seriously in achieving the targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), neither has it been able to connect to the green economy, said former vice chair of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Dr Swarnim Wagle, addressing a session on ‘green economy’, in the first iteration of Sgarmatha Sambaad.
“The agriculture-based economy of ours has entered into the service sector skipping the industrial development, which has made the achievement of SDGs even harder” he said, adding that Nepal must embrace green economy for the prosperity. “The delinking of the economy has increased the danger of the current youth generation to become old without becoming rich.”
Nepal has the demographic advantage as around 65 per cent of Nepalis are under the age of 40. But according to the World Bank, Nepal will become ageing country in a decade, meaning the country has a window of 10 years to be developed country. Otherwise, Nepalis wil become old without becoming rich, the World Bank study reveals.
Climate change has affected almost all the sectors including agriculture, hydropower, infrastructure and even banking, according to Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) president Bhawani Rana.
Emphsising on the green economy to achieve SDGs, she said the private sector has also been affected by the climate change. “The solution is to give more priority to the climate change and green economy,” she added.
Nepal is organising ‘Sagarmatha Sambaad’, a multi-stakeholder, permanent global dialogue forum in Kathmandu on April 2-4 under the theme ‘Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity’.
Addressing the inaugural session, foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said the government plans to promote the biennial ‘Sgarmatha Sambaad’ as the soft power of Nepal’s diplomacy.
“‘Sagarmatha National Sambaad’ has been organised to stimulate national-level dialogue in the run-up to the Sagarmatha Sambaad,” he said adding that it will be a forum to deliberate on the most prominent issues of global, regional and national significance. “Nepal will also utilise the platform for sharing its experience.”
Stating rationale behind adopting the theme of climate change for the first iteration of the event, Gyawali said that Nepal is bearing the brunt of climate change despite the fact that it had negligible contribution to green-house gas emission. “Mostly the climate change agenda has been raised by the western world and island counties such as Maldives, but Himalayan states which faced equal threat lagged behind,” he said, adding that Sagarmatha Sambaad wants to create a link to ensure collaboration between highland and island states.

Nepal, Russia eye strong economic partnership

Nepal and Russia underlined the need of building a strong economic partnership commensurate with the bond of friendship they have been cherishing since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1956.
They – during the meeting between visiting foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali and his counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow today – also agreed to explore ways and means for enhancing economic and trade relations for mutual benefit. Through his Russian counterpart, Gyawali encouraged Russian entrepreneurs to invest in Nepal in view of an investment-friendly environment.
According to a press note issued by the Foreign Ministry, the two leaders – on the occasion – also shared their perspectives on important global agendas, including maintenance of international peace and security, disarmament and peacekeeping. They – reads the press note – expressed their commitment to multilateralism and the centrality of the United Nations (UN) to deal with international issues.
During the bilateral meeting – held in a cordial atmosphere – the two ministers exchanged views on various aspects of bilateral relations and importance of the exchange of high-level visits, including the judicial, parliamentary and business exchanges.
Minister Gyawali, on the occasion, handed over the invitation of President Mrs Bidhya Devi Bhandari to the President of the Russian Federation to pay a state visit to Nepal, apart from invitation of the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
During the visit – in the gap of 14 years since the last visit from the Nepali side – the ministers also  agreed to harness the immense potentials to enlarge the scope and enrich the substance of the bilateral cooperation especially in the areas of investment, trade, tourism, education, energy, infrastructure development, and culture and people-to-people relations.
Inviting Lavrov to participate in the Sagarmatha Sambaad to be held in Kathmandu in April 2020, Gyawali also asked Russian investors to invest in Nepal as the country has huge potentials to develop organic agro-products such as tea, coffee, ginger, cardamom, which can be exported to Russia.
Nepal is currently a ‘dialogue partner’ of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) since 2015 and hopes to connect with the Central Asia and beyond through its framework of cooperation. The Russian Federation – as the Organisation’s founding member – on the occasion expressed its readiness to extend cooperation within the scope of the organisation, reads the press note.”The framework for the deeper engagement of Nepal with SCO is wide and Nepal believes that the partnership can be upgrade to a full membership.”