Visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said ecology and communities are being dramatically affected by climate change.

He made this statement through a video message from the base camp of Mt Everest in Solukhumbu following the observation of the Sagarmatha region this morning. During the visit, he reached Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality-4 in Solukhumbu district.

He also urged the world community to help prevent climate change.

"Glaciers are melting at record levels and sea level is rising. Serious impacts of climate change have been seen here like in Antarctica and Greenland. We see floods, we see landslides; we see communities being dramatically impacted. We need to stop this matter," he said.

He said he wants to draw the attention of the world community to prevent impacts of climate change seen in the ecology and life in the Himalayan region. "We must make sure that we must limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. Glaciers are retreating. We cannot retreat. We must move forward on climate action," he said.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrived in Pokhara on Monday afternoon. On the first day of his second trip to the Lake City – and first as the UN Secretary General, he inspected the Pokhara Valley, Himalayan peaks and Phewa Lake from Pumdikot.

He shared the memories of his first trip that happened in 1978 to Pokhara with Dhanraj Acharya, Mayor of Pokhara Metropolis. He has also obtained information about the heights of the mountains visible from Pumdikot from Acharya.

Mayor Acharya said, “The Secretary General was interested in the heights of all the mountains, the location and distance of the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) where he is going to on Tuesday. He was curious about the Pokhara of yester years, and viewed the old photos of the city taken by Tony Hagan.”

Guterres was welcomed at the airport by Gandaki Province’s Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey, Mayor Acharya, Kaski’s Chief District Officer Basudev Ghimire and others. Pokhara metropolis welcomed him with a cultural programme outside the VIP room of the airport. From there, he directly reached Fish Tail Lodge across the Phewa Lake.

He then reached Pumdikot where he observed the statue of Lord Shiva and Shanti Stupa.

Secretary General Guterres is scheduled to visit the ABC on Tuesday morning. He will leave for the base camp in a helicopter at 6:30 in the morning and reach there at 6:50. There, he will also talk to the public about the impact of climate change on the lives of ordinary people.

Chairman of Annapurna Rural Municipality Bishnu Bahadur KC has reached the base camp on Sunday to prepare for the visit of the Secretary General of the United Nations. ABC is in Annapurna Rural Municipality Ward, No 11. Chhomrong Tourism Management Committee has taken over the management of the event there.

Dilip Gurung, Secretary of the Committee, said that grand preparations have been made to welcome the UN-SG. “We are ready to talk to him about climate change and its impacts. There is excitement here with the visit of a very special guest,” he said.

Guterres will return to Pokhara airport at 7:30. He will talk to journalists in Pokhara at the airport and leave for Lumbini at 8:30.

Mayor Acharya said that this visit has created excitement in Pokhara and the entire Gandaki Province. “Along with the promotion of Pokhara’s tourism, the tour will contribute greatly to its international marketing,” he said.

Special preparations have been made in Pokhara for the reception and security of Secretary General Guterres. A team of Nepali Army has reached the Annapurna base camp on Friday. As there is already one helipad, two more helipads have been constructed in the base camp to facilitate the flight.

Annapurna Rural Municipality is going to welcome Secretary General Guterres according to the local Gurung culture, KC said.

‘World should learn from Nepal’

Earlier, speaking at a programme organised by the United Nations’ Nepal Country Team at the UN House in Lalitpur, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appreciated Nepal’s successful efforts to resolve the conflict and establish peace on its own.

He also said that the world should learn a lesson from Nepal’s success in establishing the peace after concluding years of conflict.

According to Guterres, Nepal’s contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Operations across the globe is also highly commendable. However, he expressed concerns to the early conclusion of transitional justice, the remaining task for the conclusion of peace process.

Pledging the UN’s support in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and asking the UN team to support Nepal in its development efforts, vising Secretary General also talked about the possible support to Nepal in its graduation to a developing nation status and mitigation of climate change impacts.

Speaking on the occasion, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal, said that the UN support to Nepal for the implementation of its constitutional rights and the equitable inclusive development would be continued.

Climate change affects ecology, community

Meanwhile, according to RSS, Guterres said that ecology and communities are being dramatically affected by climate change.

He made this statement through a video message from the base camp of Everest in Solukhumbu following the observation of the Sagarmatha region this morning. During the visit, he reached Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality-4 in Solukhumbu district.

He also urged the world community to help prevent climate change.

“Glaciers are melting at record levels and sea level is rising. Serious impacts of climate change have been seen here like in Antarctica and Greenland. We see floods, we see landslides; we see communities being dramatically impacted. We need to stop this matter,” he said.

He said he wants to draw the attention of the world community to prevent impacts of climate change seen in the ecology and life in the Himalayan region. “We must make sure that we must limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. Glaciers are retreating. We cannot retreat. We must move forward on climate action,” he said.

Guterres arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday on a four-day official visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda.

Source: RSS