The change we want to see is in our hands!
By the Nepal Power Shift Team
Nepal nestles between India and China amidst the Himalayas. The geographic boundary of Nepal starts in the south as low as 70m above sea level in Kanchan Kalan and within a breadth of 200 km ends in the north – as high as 8848m at Mt. Everest. Such dramatic difference in elevation makes Nepal a biodiversity hotspot and also an ethnic melting pot in the region and all this global biodiversity is sure to be lost unless some concrete measure are taken against climate change. On this note, the government and the development partners are concerned in mitigation and adaptation of climate change; programs and projects are being developed accordingly but still information to the youth and their meaningful participation is a far cry. So the question arises as to what’s the solution? As a young generation that is genuinely concerned by climate change, knowledge sharing and capacity building are some of the first steps in building a more aware and sensitive population.
There is an ancient saying in Sanskrit that goes: न चोरहार्यं न च राजहार्यं न भ्रातृभ्राज्यं न च भारकारि। व्यये कृते वर्धत एव नित्यं विद्याधनं सर्वधनप्रधानम्॥
When translated in English, this means: It cannot be stolen by a thief. It cannot taken away by a King. It cannot be divided among brothers. It does not cause load. It always increases when spent. The wealth of knowledge is the greatest of all wealth.
In this scenario Power Shift Nepal have gathered forth 100 young people to share personal experiences and knowledge on ways to address climate change. Nepal has come together in this single platform of “I am a Powershifter” to initiate innovative campaigns that acts against climate change, attain knowledge and pass it on to others.
In the words of Niraj Tamrakar, “A couple of months may not be adequate time to bring the change or stop climate change but it’s enough to initiate the change that we want for future.” For this, “Shifting knowledge is imperative! Although we are generally reluctant to share, we need to shift knowledge to shift power!” stresses Dr. Gajurel, Member Secretary of National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC)
For this resolution, numerous participants from diverse backgrounds have come forward with their interest and have committed to initiate actions to bring changes mainly from five different themes;
1. Promoting Eco friendly Behavior
2. Eco friendly Business and Tourism
3. Promoting Alternative Energy
4. Research and Policy
5. Art and Creative Activism: Documentation, Drama and Documentary
These five thematic teams have developed their respective action plan during 3 days action planning at Centre for Human Resource Development Unit, which will be executed in coming 2 months. The learning (output) will be shared globally on the 5th of June, 2014 on the occasion of World Environment day to spearhead the climate movement in Nepal.
These plans and activities targeting the people of Nepal includes behavioural change from the school level, initiatives to manage solid waste, research on existing climate change policy and loopholes in its execution, finding and filling gaps for promoting alternative energy, incorporating environment and business for sustainable economy, exploration of success stories of eco-friendly business and documentation of the success stories of climate movements, problems caused by climate change and sharing the issues along with its solutions.
In coming months PowerShift Nepal team will work to achieve the goals and objectives of knowledge sharing, informing and involving youth and policy makers and strengthen the climate movement in Nepal.