Kathmandu, September 21, 2026 — Madhav Sapkota, head of the Nepali Communist Party’s Forest, Environment and Climate Department, has said the Himalayan crisis must be established as a serious political issue of climate justice and international responsibility rather than being treated merely as a matter of disaster management.
Sapkota made the remarks while making public a special proposal adopted by the department. He said the department’s full meeting, held Saturday at the party headquarters in Parisdanda in the presence of party coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, unanimously endorsed the special proposal on “Climate Justice, the Himalayas and Human Civilization” presented by him.
According to Sapkota, the meeting conducted a serious review of the devastating Bhotekoshi flood in Rasuwa on Bhadra 10, 2083 BS, describing it as a Himalayan catastrophe that once again exposed Nepal to the harsh reality of the climate crisis.
He said the disaster caused irreparable human and physical losses, with more than 1,400 citizens dying prematurely and more than 6,000 going missing, according to the department. He said the situation also required Nepal to make a formal appeal for international assistance after the country’s internal capacity alone could not bear the burden.
Sapkota said the meeting called for deeper discussion of Nepal’s historical initiatives in support of climate change action, the Himalayas and the rights of working people.
