<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101144/63720e849c7e80680e0b7920jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="681"/><figcaption>Indra Maya Tamang waters her farm in Kavre. She is a participant of agricultural and entrepreneurship training provided by UN Women with Finland’s support. Photo: UN WOMEN/MERIT MAHARJAN</figcaption></figure>Nepal is one of the world’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-change-is-a-disaster-in-the-nepal-himalaya/">most vulnerable countries</a> to the impacts of climate change. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/danger-nepals-glacial-lakes-are-filling-up/">Himalayan glaciers are melting</a> at an exceptional rate, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of people who depend on glacier-fed rivers.Nepal is party to the Paris Agreement of 2016, the first legally binding international treaty on climate change that aims to limit global warming to ‘well below’ 2o above pre-industrial levels, preferably 1.5 °.The Covid-19 pandemic has not slowed down the pace of climate change, and there is an increasing likelihood that the goals of the Paris Agreement and Agenda 2030 will not be met in time.With its development partners Nepal seeks to address the inevitable effects of climate change. Having recognised the triple threats of Covid-19, climate change and rising inequality, Nepal adopted the Green, Resilient and Inclusive Development (GRID) approach in 2021 to achieve economic growth while addressing environmental degradation and social inequalities.For this there is a need to focus on women’s roles in climate-related action. Women and girls are bearing a disproportionate impact of climate change because of socially embedded and stereotypical gender roles.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-doubly-burdened-by-climate-change/">Nepali women doubly burdened by climate change</a>,  Sewa BhattaraiWomen are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-doubly-burdened-by-climate-change/">generally more likely than men to experience the adverse effects of climate change</a> because they constitute most of the poor, and are usually directly dependent on threatened natural resources as their primary source of food and income.Women-led interventions are therefore needed to link the economy, gender, social inequality and climate change. Already, the impact on the lives of women is evident, especially in developing countries, where the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/women-in-climate-hot-spots-face-challenges-adapting/">loss of natural resources has a direct impact on food and water security</a>.A National Climate Change Impact Survey in 2016 revealed that over 84% of households in Nepal suffered depletion of surface water, with a majority also reporting new crop diseases, invasive pests and additional health problems in livestock.With over 74% of households in Nepal using biomass for fuel, women are predominantly tasked with collecting water and firewood. Moreover, three-quarters of the female workforce in Nepal is engaged in agriculture. The loss of surface water, crops and forest cover means  women have been bearing the brunt of climate change.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/women-moving-nepals-climate-activism/">Women moving Nepal’s climate activism</a>,  Sewa BhattaraiClimate change also drives conflict and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-the-climate-crisis-adds-to-child-marriage-in-nepal/">increases the vulnerabilities of women and girls</a> to gender-based violence, human trafficking, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-the-climate-crisis-adds-to-child-marriage-in-nepal/">child marriage</a>.Women are also more likely to drop out of school due to the growing economic burden.Improving the conditions of women – especially <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/educating-girls-for-climate-action/">through better education and health care</a> – would not only reduce poverty and benefit society, but also mitigate the impact of climate change.Climate change is a complex phenomenon, but the debate around it is too often one-sided. The gender perspective is not always sufficiently taken into account during global discussions. This amplifies existing inequalities that pose unique threats to the livelihoods, health and safety of women and girls.Women have a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-smart-ramkali-mahato/">special role to play in tackling climate change</a> and their under-representation in negotiations does not reflect their unique skills and knowledge. Because women have a greater responsibility for the natural resources used by households, they also have experience on their acquisition and use.This knowledge in agriculture, conservation and natural resource management, particularly at the local level , can ensure action and adaptation methods that are more effective.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101144/63720e879c7e80680e0b7921jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="366" height="184">In March 2022, the UN <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/">Commission on the Status of Women</a> (CSW), the principal intergovernmental body dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment, is assembled for its 66th session from 14-25 March in New York.The priority theme of CSW66 is ‘Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.’The CSW has highlighted that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/women-moving-nepals-climate-activism/">women and girls' participation</a> and leadership are critical for making climate, environmental and disaster risk action more effective. The importance of leveraging ancestral knowledge and practices of indigenous peoples and local communities for gender-responsive climate action has been reiterated in the CSW 66 Agreed Conclusions.Ensuring the equal and full participation of women in climate decision-making, planning and implementation is a requisite to protecting women’s rights and promoting gender equality.The potential and role of women in seeking solutions to a problem that transcends regions and generations must not be ignored. Combating climate change and its impact requires the inclusion of women in all levels of decision-making. It is crucial to the survival of our planet.Navanita Sinha is the Head of Office a.i. of UN Women Nepal Pertti Anttinen is the Ambassador of Finland to Nepal.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101144/63720e889c7e80680e0b7922jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="238" height="135">Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/women-and-water/">Women and water</a>, Editorial

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Holding up 1/2 the sky on climate action

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cca9c7e80680e0b788ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"/><figcaption>38-year-old Ramkali Mahato from Babargunj, Sarlahi district has a keen interest in learning climate sensitive farming techniques. She has leased 1.33-hectare land for commercial vegetable farming. Photo: NISHANT GURUNG/UN WOMEN</figcaption></figure>Ramkali Mahato from Sarlahi in Nepal’s southern plains was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/child-marriages-up-during-nepal-lockdown/">only 12</a> when she got married. “As a daughter-in-law, I quickly learned to cover my face, stay indoors and not speak with the neighbours,” says Mahato.Going to school was no longer an option and she <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/half-of-nepals-girls-may-drop-out-of-school/">dropped out of seventh grade</a>. Within the first year of her marriage, Mahato had given birth to a daughter and in the next few years, she was a mother of three. With her husband away <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/people-to-people-at-india-nepal-border/">in India working</a> as a rickshaw driver, Mahato had the responsibility of caring for her three children and in-laws.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720ccd9c7e80680e0b788bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="126" height="150">Says Mahato: “With limited income, it was a struggle to ensure all of us had adequate food to eat. That is when I decided to take matters into my own hands, no matter what the community thought about it.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cce9c7e80680e0b788cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figcaption>Ramkali Mahato uses climate sensitive, modern farming techniques for better produce. She has built a climate sensitive plastic tunnel to grow off-seasonal vegetables and protect her produce from unexpected rainfalls and harsh cold.  Photo: NISHANT GURUNG/UN WOMEN</figcaption></figure>Mahato first bought a buffalo and started selling the milk to earn extra money, which she used to invest in more cattle. She also planted crops in a small piece of family land. “While farming added food for my family, most of my produce would go bad, I didn’t understand why. There was never a surplus to sell,” she recalls.In 2016, after learning about agriculture training being provided in her village, she joined with hopes of also receiving seeds and equipment for her farm. The training Accelerating Progress towards Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment (JP RWEE) was a <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en">UN Women</a>-led joint program in collaboration with <a href="https://www.fao.org/home/en">FAO</a>, <a href="https://www.wfp.org/support-us/stories/donate?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=11709431918&amp;utm_content=115463949244&amp;gclid=EAIaIQobChMIo8bBttW19gIV3sEWBR0L_Ql9EAAYASAAEgI-xfD_BwE&amp;gclsrc=aw.ds">WFP</a> and <a href="https://www.ifad.org/en/">IFAD</a>.The training program focused on strengthening the leadership capacity of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-doubly-burdened-by-climate-change/">rural women farmers</a> at home and their respective communities and included climate-sensitive techniques like plastic tunnel farming that allowed people to grow off-seasonal vegetables.“The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/disasters-in-nepal-come-in-waves/">weather is so unpredictable</a> in Terai these days. We have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/post-monsoon-rain-ruins-nepals-crops/">unexpected floods</a> during summer and harsh winters when we do not see the sun for a month during the cold waves,” says Mahato, who now grows not only grains but also cauliflowers, spinach, chilies, gourds, okras, long beans and more in 14 tunnels she built in her farm.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cd19c7e80680e0b788djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figcaption>Ramkali Mahato installs bamboo as a form of support for her climber crops. Photo: NISHANT GURUNG/UN WOMEN</figcaption></figure>The produce from her farm is more than enough for her family and there is even surplus to sell in the market. Says Mahato: "My husband and I take the vegetables in an auto and sell them in the market in Lalbandi, the nearest city from our village.”In the training, Mahato also learned to make organic fertilisers at home using vegetable and other kitchen waste. “This is the best way to save the quality of the soil. I only buy it from the market when I am running short of it,” she adds.At present 38-year-old Mahato has leased 1.33-hectare land for commercial vegetable farming. But she had observed a sharp increase in her income from a mere Rs30,000 a year to Ts750,000 after she started implementing <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/help-for-resilient-farming/">climate-resilient farming</a>.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/women-and-water/">Women and water</a>, Editorial Rachana Bhattarai, Programme Analyst at UN Women says, “Women and girls are taking climate and environment action at all levels, but their voice, agency, and participation are under-supported, under-resourced, under-valued and under-recognized. Within women, it is also important to ensure how this is impacting women based on their caste, ethnicity, class, and geographical location.”Outmigration of working-age men from Nepal’s villages has added to the burden of women but it has also allowed them to step into more <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/uncategorized/home-alone-in-dasain/">meaningful leadership roles</a> in their families and communities. They also play an important but often unrecognised role in agriculture that sustains nearly 80% of Nepalis.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cd49c7e80680e0b788ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figcaption>Ramkali Mahato with her family which she supports with income from her commercial farming. Photo: NISHANT GURUNG/UN WOMEN </figcaption></figure>The empowerment of women in agriculture is key to overall economic productivity, given the majority, 84.3% percent of women with any form of employment work in the agriculture sector.Since her commercial farming took off, Mahato has noticed a change in how her neighbours perceive her. “The same people who once spoke badly of me because I went out to collect fodder now ask my help to make plastic tunnels for their farms,” she says. “Many more people are also willing to trust me with financial loans now.”Earlier, Mahato was not confident about taking loans and many refused to lend her money. But she now comfortably manages her accounts and transactions. Her income, in fact, pays for her children’s tuition, the medical expense of her husband and rent of the leased farm.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cd89c7e80680e0b788fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figcaption>Ramkali Mahato wants her daughter to pursue higher studies and become economically independent. Photo: NISHANT GURUNG/UN WOMEN</figcaption></figure>Mahato is also the chair of Laxmi Rural Women Farmer’s Group and Hariyali Women Multipurpose Cooperative. Through these networks, she supports other women in her community to generate income through agriculture. In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the network also served as a close-knit support group for women who are living in vulnerable situations or are victims of gender-based violence.During the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, most people in the village let their sons study online but daughters had to help their mothers with household chores, but I didn’t differentiate between my children, says Mahato whose daughter just completed high school and the duo is keen about her college prospects.Adds Mahato: “I do not want my daughter or the daughters in my community to face the same challenges as I did.”The first phase of the project was conducted in Rautahat and Sarlahi in Madhes from 2016-2021 and the second phase will be implemented from May 2022 in Siraha and Saptari districts under the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and with support from Multi Partner Trust Fund. Nepal is implementing the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the empowerment of rural women is vital to the success of the SDGs.*While outlawed, child marriages and teenage birth continue to be culturally prevalent in areas of Nepal. <a href="https://www.unicef.org/nepal/reports/ending-child-marriage-nepal%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank">Studies</a> have shown that in disasters or crises, as families lose homes and livelihoods, parents are more likely to marry off their children in a bid to protect them and secure their futures.Subeksha Poudel is the communication officer with the UN Women Nepal.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-doubly-burdened-by-climate-change/">Nepali women doubly burdened by climate change</a>, Sewa Bhattarai

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Climate smart Ramkali Mahato

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cc69c7e80680e0b7888jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"/><figcaption>Photo: ICIMOD</figcaption></figure>Climate change impacts all of us, but this burden is not evenly spread out. Our experiences, our privileges, our support systems, our ability to cope – these dictate how the very real consequences of today’s climate crisis impact us.We know that women face exclusion and unequal burdens. Their access to resources, rights, assets, and power remains fettered. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-change-is-a-disaster-in-the-nepal-himalaya/">Climate change</a> only deepens these inequalities – manifold.Take the women from the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, which straddles eight countries and is one of the poorest and most neglected regions in the world. Women here have had to contend with <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/mountains-without-men-sindhupalchok,3585">men migrating in search of employment</a> by shouldering more responsibilities: welfare and community work, agricultural labour, and natural resource use and management, among many other duties.To add to this feminisation of responsibilities, women from the Himalaya have had to navigate through <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-doubly-burdened-by-climate-change/">climate change-related uncertainty and hardships</a>. Climate change impacts are felt more severely and rapidly in these mountains than anywhere else.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cc99c7e80680e0b7889jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="126" height="150">These disruptions to lives and livelihoods are very real and very serious. Domestic drudgery is compounded by climate change, which leaves little room for growth and other opportunities. And Himalayan women farmers have to deal with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/women-and-water/">growing water scarcity</a>, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-double-burden-of-climate-and-covid/">unpredictable and extreme weather events</a>, falling productivity, and poor access to financial resources and market linkages. They also have to carve out alternative sources of livelihoods as traditional subsistence becomes harder by the day.As farmers, as entrepreneurs, as caretakers, and in the host of other roles thrust upon them, women now have to adapt to these disruptions of climate change. We can learn a great deal from the important contributions and adaptations women make towards climate action.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-the-climate-crisis-adds-to-child-marriage-in-nepal/">How the climate crisis adds to child marriage in Nepal</a>, Sonam LamaRecognising this, the Government of Norway and <a href="https://www.icimod.org/">ICIMOD</a> have been working together with Nepal’s women to address the sharp gendered inequalities in climate change adaptation. We recently visited different municipalities in Kavre district where we have been piloting a package of solutions that are gender responsive, simple, and affordable. We were inspired by how women are leading the way with innovative, climate-resilient solutions and approaches.Women are at the forefront of climate change impacts, and in Kavre they have been active and effective agents and promoters of adaptation and mitigation. For instance, we are working to develop a green, resilient, and inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem for economic and environmental sustainability in Khawa village.Women’s groups have formed a home-based enterprise that processes milk and sells value-added dairy products at local markets in and around the Kathmandu Valley. Although <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-double-burden-of-climate-and-covid/">the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted</a> the supply chain, these women’s groups worked with government line agencies and the private sector to get back on track.During the pandemic, we also trained <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/holding-up-half-the-economy/">women entrepreneurs</a> in Khawa to produce off-farm products like face masks and PPE sets, and they used digital platforms for financial transactions to access prevailing market prices and technical advice linked to crop management. While the market for these specific items may change over time, the women have developed some e-commerce skills and have combined private sector actor networking with their own sales in local markets, aiding overall sustainability into the future for these women entrepreneurs.In Kuikel Thumka village, our work is largely focused on nature-based solutions and we witnessed how women have increased access to climate and market information via mobile apps and SMS advisories and better networking with municipalities and government line departments. This has led to women’s growing leadership roles and decision making regarding farming, marketing of agricultural products, natural resource management, and financial investments and savings.Our vision for Nepal, and the Himalaya-Hindu Kush region, is for women to become change agents for collective climate action. As custodians of natural resources, women are repositories of traditional knowledge on how life with changing, finite natural systems can co-exist, and how benefits from such natural resources can be equitably distributed.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-doubly-burdened-by-climate-change/">Nepali women doubly burdened by climate change</a>, Sewa BhattaraiSeeing how <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-doubly-burdened-by-climate-change/">deeply interwoven gender and climate change</a> are, we need to relieve the burden on women who are already feeling its disproportionate impact. Women cannot be victims and champions at the same time. Women should not be silent beneficiaries, but they cannot be fixers of all problems either.Women are and can be change agents, but we need targeted solutions that match their realities, and integrated policies and programmes that consider the intersections of gender and climate change. Only with the right environment and the proper incentives and capacity building can women really lead the charge for nature-based solutions, sustainable development, and effective climate action.We are optimistic that this can happen and believe it is important to amplify voices of mountain women through examples of their leadership in climate action. During the high-level Ministerial Mountain Summit, the eight Himalaya-Hindu Kush countries supported collective climate action and investments in climate adaptation, low carbon development pathways, and resilience building.This can help deliver nationally prioritised climate action and scale up solutions at speed and space. On the ground, we emphasise climate-adapted agricultural practices and nature-based solutions.If we are to adapt to climate change, women will need to be at the heart of the climate-resilient solutions we promote across the Himalaya.Torun Dramdal is the Norwegian Ambassador to Nepal, and Pema Gyamtsho is the Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain DevelopmentRead also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/women-moving-nepals-climate-activism/">Women moving Nepal’s climate activism</a>, Sewa  Bhattarai

Mountain women on the climate frontlines

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd7279c7e80680e092dc2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photo: NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption></figure>When Disha Ravi, a 22-year-old Indian climate activist was arrested last month for sharing online information related to the farmers’ protest in India, it put a spotlight on the importance of young women in the region spreading awareness about the climate crisis.A generation ago, ‘climate change’ was a foreign term in Nepal and there was very little understanding or awareness of it in the media and in society. This saddened Bindu Bhandari, and it made her think about Nepal’s position as one of the most vulnerable countries to the global impact."When I started working on climate in 2014, I was an undergraduate student, and still didn't know about these issues. I became concerned that the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/human-face-of-a-himalayan-climate-crisis/">real victims of climate change</a> don't know much about it and have few ways to adapt to it," says Bhandari, who currently works as climate program associate at Climate Interactive.A student of veterinary science, Bhandari began to see the linkages between climate change and what she was studying: "We are in the frontlines of climate change. But that does not mean that we are simply victims. It's also an opportunity.”Bhandari’s work now involves using interactive tools, role playing games, and workshops to teach people about the climate emergency and how it affects Nepal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd72a9c7e80680e092dc3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="640"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The organisation has developed games that simulate scenarios of proposals to reduce greenhouse gases, and pathway tools that help visualise change. Bhandari takes these games to schools, and to other stakeholders involved in forests, energy, activism, corporate world, and in diverse ranges of cultures and professions, providing trainings.Shilshila Acharya is with the Himalayan Climate Initiative (HCI) which reaches out to young people. She has engaged in education and engagement activities related to youth in climate issues through three to five-day courses on climate change in different parts of Nepal, reaching more than 1,100 students so far. The Covid-19 restriction actually worked in HCI’s favour, as it helped scale up, reaching up to 600 students in a single online batch."We want to teach youth to implement sustainable ideas," says Acharya. "We are providing local level government fellowships to 60 fellows. They need to identify problems and design <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/earning-to-adapt-to-climate-crisis/">sustainable solutions</a>.” Acharya and her colleagues support young students to design their own approaches to climate change. Their ideas are developed into projects to be implemented and funded by the local municipality.One of these is the Hamri Bahini initiative, which supports women from low-income groups to make and sell cloth bags to discourage the use of plastic bags, while also helping the creators of the bag understand the impact of the climate crisis.“Public campaigns not just help make the issue visible in the media, but also remind people to think of climate issues,” says Acharya.Sagarika Bhatta, who founded Power Shift Nepal, often leads such public campaigns. Educational programs about the relationship between climate change, city, gender, mountain and agriculture are some of the areas of their work. The participants are women aged between 18-24 who engaged in research on climate change policy, followed by activism."Power Shift Nepal has campaigned against oil drilling exploration in Nepal. We are also collecting signatures from environmentalists against increased taxes for electric vehicles. Such outreach programs and campaigns help raise awareness of climate issues among a larger audience," says Bhatta. Campaigns related to fossil fuel free urban space and how to transfer to renewable energy have been some of their latest activities.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd72c9c7e80680e092dc4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="638"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Climate change is known to impact women in remote, rural areas more severely, but little knowledge or awareness is available to those regions in terms of how they can combat its impact. With young women in urban centers stepping up activism and awareness, there is newfound hope that their work will help spread understanding on the issue.In December 2020, the Ministry of Forests and Environment (MoFE) approved a Gender and Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, which many activists marked as an achievement. But the work to change the way the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/underreporting-the-climate-emergency/"> issue is perceived</a> and misunderstood, and to raise Nepal's voice in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-climate-threat-multiplier/">international platforms</a> continues to be an uphill one.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/himal-pahad-tarai/">Nepalese Youth for Climate Action (NYCA)</a> is one such voluntary group, a loose network of youths that works to make children and youth aware of climate change through research, advocacies and awareness programs. Their presentations called "Climate Talk" and a talk series called "Green Discussion" on Youtube, are recorded in schools and colleges, which gives students a platform to have a say in climate change.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd72f9c7e80680e092dc5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="802"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd7329c7e80680e092dc6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="699">"With a secretariat at Clean Energy Nepal, we work on zero funds. We often approach other organisations for financial support to organize conferences, etc.," says Shreya KC, coordinator of NYCA. “It's not always easy, but our passion for the environment keeps us going.”Sewa Bhattarai is a consultant for the Road to COP26 Project, which is funded by FCDO and implemented by the British Council.

Women moving Nepal’s climate activism

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

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