Experts hail climate change mgmt centre

KATHMANDU, JAN 18 - Nepal Climate Change Knowledge Management Centre, established in December last year by the government as a conduit for research and literature on climate change in Nepal, will help generate and disseminate ideas on climate change to people, experts said.

Being under National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) the centre will facilitate scientific research on climate change. NAST aims to initiate a "bottom-up advocacy campaign" through the centre, said Dinesh Raj Bhuju, chief of NAST's science faculty.

The centre has so far collected more than 1,000 books and booklets from India and other countries. The centre is also trying to reach out to ordinary Nepalis interested in climate change issues.

A team from the centre visited 25 districts with a mobile library to create massive awareness a month ago. "The centre will come up with more attractive programmes in its second and third phases," said NAST's Bhuju.

The centre—the result of joint effort of NAST and Ministry of Environment (MoE)—is part of an extended process of National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) in Nepal (2008-2010), which is supported by DANIDA, DFID, GEF and UNDP-Nepal.

"The centre aims to serve as a platform to coordinate and facilitate management, exchange and spread information on climate-based issues," said Bhuju.

"Talks on climate change should not be only limited in urban areas as its impact is more visible on rural and poor people. The topography of the Himalayas as well as poor economy makes us more prone to the disaster compared to many other countries that are at climate change risk," he said.

Source:ekantipur.com