Nepal to host Sustainable Summits to discuss mountain environment, climate change impacts

The Sustainable Summits Conference, the fifth edition of its kind, is being held in Nepal from 1-5 June this year to showcase the country’s mountain environment, highlight climate change issues and bring international attention to Nepal’s mountain tourism.

Organising a news conference here today, the organisers said that Sustainable Summits Conference 2020 is aimed at honouring mountain voices and promoting increased understanding of the Himalaya as an “abode of the Gods”.

It will provide a platform for issues from the Hindu Kush Himalaya region to be discussed, debated and consolidated in order to influence policy and to have a unified voice in other global arenas, said a member of the organising committee Lisa Choegyal.

It is said that discussions will be held on the measures to strengthen tourism to the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, learn and share global best practices and explore opportunities for national and regional cooperation.

The event would be organised by Nepal Tourism Board and Visit Nepal Year 2020 Secretariat as the lead organisation and as a key VNY 2020 activity, and Climate Alliance of Himalayan Communities as the conference organiser.

The four main theme of the conference are mountains nurturing communities; sustainable mountaineering – the Everest factor; development pressures – balancing local priorities, conservation and tourism and tourism, trade and regional cooperation – promoting economic, ecological, and geographical connectivity.

The day programme features a range of relevant speakers, particularly focusing on Nepali, international and Hindu Kush Himalayan presenters with experience from Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan.

Former Prime Minister of New Zealand and former Administrator of UNDP Helen Clark will be delivering the keynote address while veteran mountaineers Sir Chris Bonington and Reinhold Messner will be the speakers at the conference, according to Choegyal.

During the programme today, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Dr Dhananjaya Regmi, Coordinator of VNY Suraj Vaidhya, the conference organising committee members Ang Tshering Sherpa, Dr Ganesh Gurung and Dawa Steven Sherpa shared their ideas on the preparations of the conference.