Kathmandu Gears Up for HKH Parliamentarians’ Meet 2025

Preparations are complete for the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) Parliamentarians’ Meet 2025, which begins in Kathmandu on Monday, August 18, according to Organising Committee Coordinator Bir Bahadur Balayar.

The two-day event is being held in coordination with the Ministry of Forests and Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with technical support from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the intergovernmental knowledge and learning centre. 

Supported by the United Kingdom International Development (UKID) through its Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), it aims to provide an effective platform for members of the parliaments from the HKH countries to come together, access the latest knowledge and information about the HKH region’s issues, challenges and opportunities, share experiences about the best parliamentary practices, and discuss forward-looking policy actions, according to ICIMOD. 

More than 100 lawmakers are expected to participate from across the HKH region—Nepal, India, China, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and Pakistan. Afghanistan, despite being a part of the region, was not invited as Nepal has yet to recognise its incumbent government, the state-owned RSS news agency reported.

President Ramchandra Paudel will attend the inaugural session as Chief Guest, alongside Speaker Devraj Ghimire as Special Guest. The session, scheduled to begin at 9:30 AM, will also feature addresses by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Forests and Environment, and ICIMOD Director General Pema Gyamtsho.

The HKH region, home to fragile mountain ecosystems and hundreds of millions of people, is among the world’s most vulnerable to climate change. The meet comes as extreme weather events linked to climate change continue to batter the region. 

The region is increasingly facing severe impacts of climate change, disaster risks, biodiversity loss, and pollution alongside accelerated socio-economic shifts with serious implications to ecosystems, natural resources, livelihoods and human life, says ICIMOD on its website, providing the background of the meet.

In Pakistan, flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains have killed at least 344 people, with more than 150 reported missing in the northwest, according to the provincial disaster authority. The hardest-hit Buner district saw over 200 fatalities and entire villages buried, rescue officials told AFP. 

Scientists warn that climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of monsoon-related disasters.

Despite sharing various environmental and socio-economic challenges, the HKH parliamentarians lack a regional platform to discuss their shared challenges and opportunities and identify solutions to address them collectively, says ICIMOD, adding, “Given the significant role of parliamentarians in policymaking, legislation, and shaping public opinion, parliamentarians from the HKH countries can be crucial in advancing the region’s climate action and resilience agenda. However, they need access to essential knowledge and evidence to proactively advance gender equal and social inclusive, pro-planet, pro-mountain, and pro-climate advocacy at the national, regional and global forums.”

(With inputs from RSS)