President Ram Chandra Paudel has called on the international community to take concrete steps toward climate justice for Nepal and other environmentally vulnerable countries, following the devastating Bhotekoshi floods that have killed more than 1,300 people and left thousands missing.
Addressing the nation on Monday, Paudel said the disaster had exposed the extreme vulnerability of the Himalayan environment and warned that rising global temperatures are increasing the risks faced by countries such as Nepal.
Paudel urged the international community not merely to acknowledge the concerns of climate-vulnerable countries but to take effective and concrete measures to address their growing risks.
He said Nepal has repeatedly suffered earthquakes, floods, landslides, epidemics and other disasters, despite contributing relatively little to global greenhouse-gas emissions.
The President's appeal comes as the August 26 Bhotekoshi disaster has brought the issue of climate-related loss and damage back to the centre of Nepal's international agenda. Scientists have linked the catastrophe to an ice-rock avalanche in the high Himalayas, although research into the precise chain of events continues.
According to the latest reports, the disaster has claimed 1,355 lives, while nearly 5,000 people remain unaccounted for. Nepal observed a national day of mourning on Monday as families continued to grieve and rescue teams searched for missing people.
The floods devastated communities along the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli corridor, destroying homes, roads, bridges and critical infrastructure, including hydropower projects.
President Paudel said the state must ensure that victims are treated with dignity and that the identification of recovered bodies is conducted carefully and systematically.
The President also emphasised that people who have lost their homes, relatives and livelihoods need state support and reassurance.
He urged the government and other institutions to ensure that survivors receive food, clean drinking water, safe shelter, medical treatment and psychosocial support. Particular attention, he said, should be given to children, senior citizens, people with disabilities, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups.
Paudel also called for accurate information to be provided to families of missing Nepali and foreign nationals.
The President described the disaster as a stark warning about the increasingly fragile Himalayan ecosystem.
The Bhotekoshi flood has intensified concerns that climate change, glacier instability and other changes in the Himalayan cryosphere could expose Nepal to increasingly severe disasters.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah has similarly argued that Nepal needs to raise the issue internationally, including questions about why glaciers are collapsing and what is driving increasingly destructive water-related disasters.
Paudel said the disaster should also prompt Nepal to reconsider its development model as the country moves toward reconstruction, restoration and economic recovery.
The disaster has damaged major infrastructure and exposed vulnerabilities in settlements and critical projects located along Himalayan river corridors.
Rather than treating reconstruction simply as replacing what was destroyed, authorities will need to consider whether infrastructure, settlements and disaster-preparedness systems are adequately designed for a changing climate.
Alongside his international appeal, Paudel called on Nepal's political parties, elected representatives, civil society, humanitarian organisations, businesses and citizens to remain united.
He said the current moment should not be used for political division or confrontation but for national solidarity, rescue, reconstruction and economic recovery.
As search operations continue and thousands of families await news of missing relatives, the President said Nepal must confront the disaster collectively while also pressing the international community for greater responsibility toward countries facing disproportionate climate risks.
HamroBichar will continue to follow the Bhotekoshi disaster, Nepal's climate-justice campaign and the ongoing search, rescue and recovery efforts.
Category: National | Climate & Environment | Disaster
Tags: Ram Chandra Paudel, Climate Justice, Nepal, Bhotekoshi Flood, Climate Change, Himalayan Disaster, Global Warming, Loss and Damage, Nepal President, Climate Finance
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