This site uses cookies, as explained in our terms of use. If you consent, please close this message and continue to use this site.
David James Molden
3 mins Read
In today’s age of information overload and sound bites, I frequently reflect back on the fundamentals and focus on key words and phrases. For ICIMOD, the fundamentally important words are “mountain people,” but also important to #mountainpeople are the role of #mountainyouth in imbibing and promoting #mountainpride. August provided us as an institution some good opportunities to highlight the issues of mountain youth, mountain people and mountain pride in part because it holds both the International Youth Day and the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
On International Youth Day, I had an incredibly inspiring opportunity to be with around 200 youth from over 30 countries who had gathered in Nepal to be a part of the International Youth Forum on Human Rights and Sustainable Development Goals organized by energetic and passionate youth from the Youth for Human Rights – Nepal. During this celebration, I had the pleasure of introducing the importance of mountain ecosystems and I talked about #mountainpeople who reside in our Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region. Because many of this region’s people are indigenous people, I discussed these two themes and sought to focus on the particular strengths of mountain livelihoods and mountain cultures that should bring a unique sense of pride to #mountainpeople.
Even while focusing on the positive, we shouldn’t deny that there are particular challenges in the #HKHmountains like accessing knowledge and information, accessing gainful employment and combatting negative social norms hindering social mobility. There’s also a lot of out-migration from mountain communities – and that too mostly of men – so that women often shoulder heavy responsibilities in sustaining their families within increasingly resource-challenged mountain livelihoods.
Despite the existing challenges that #mountainpeople of this region – especially #mountainyouth – are facing, the time has now come to change the narrative. The energy of young people has to be directed towards action to convert vulnerabilities and challenges to strengths and opportunities. Youth do play significant roles as critical thinkers, change makers, innovators, communicators, heritage bearers, entrepreneurs, skilled workers, and leaders in sustainable and inclusive development worldwide. As active agents of change in local communities, young people play important roles in engaging their own families and grassroots’ communities, and are instrumental in communicating the science of climate change to the wider public.
As part of our effort to create a new generation of transformational leaders committed to #mountainresearch, I also had the opportunity to interact with young people from academia who participated in a two week course run by the Himalayan University Consortium. This course was designed to help early career-researchers from across the region deepen their understanding about and pursue more transdisciplinary approaches to climate science and adaptation in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region. There was so much talent, energy and focus among those twenty-two participants from across all eight of our regional member countries, that I am hopeful about these transformational leaders who will enhance the breadth and depth of #mountainresearch.
Having myself felt so thoroughly inspired by this region’s youth through these recent opportunities, I hope that others – especially policy makers – also have opportunities to listen to and engage with this region’s youth. We can work together to build a community of climate-aware young ambassadors who can network, collaborate, advocate and seek support for the good science and knowledge that are generated in the region.
Youth take part in an interactive networking session at ICIMOD Knowledge Park in Godavari, Nepal
While International Youth Day and the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples serve as annual celebrations, they also offer opportunities to raise awareness of challenges and problems facing the world’s youth and the world’s indigenous people. For us at ICIMOD, #MountainYouth #MountainPeople and #MountainPride will continue to be fundamentally important words for us and I would like all youth to think of themselves not just as the future, but also as the present. I call on all youth to engage curiously and openly as citizens of our world, to break existing boundaries to connect, collaborate and commit in our pursuit of mitigating and adapting to impacts of climate and other changes on our mountains.
Share
Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.
Related content
Institutional Positioning Mountain Focus: First and foremost, ICIMOD is for mountains and people, covering the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). Mountain ecosystems ...
ICIMOD is celebrating the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) 2010 with various activities including bringing its experience in biodiversity conservation ...
As environmental pressures grow across the HKH region, it has never been more important that progress on a multilateral ...
Today, 10 years later, the situation is different as there has been a flurry of scientific activities to fill in ...
Choose to challenge: Empowering women as leaders for gender equality in the “new normal” Gender equality is imperative to the attainment ...
由气候驱动的风暴、洪水、热浪和干旱的经济代价首次被计算出来,即在过去20年中,人类付出的代价已达到1600万美元/小时。其中,三分之二的费用是由于生命损失,剩下的则是因为财产和其他资产损失。 而这不仅是兴都库什-喜马拉雅的统计数据。今年,在我们整个地区,气候灾害给许多家庭来了难以承受的损失:数百人丧生,更多的房屋、农作物和财产在毁灭性的洪水和山体滑坡中被毁。最近,上周锡金蒂斯塔河(Teesta river)爆发冰川湖溃决洪水,这清楚地提醒了人类,大自然的愤怒是无止境的。 今年的国际减灾日与我们区域内的家庭、科学家和政策制定者共同评估了季风和全球升温给人类和经济带来的沉重代价,恰逢其时。 展望未来,气候驱动的灾难将激增。联合国减少灾害风险办公室(UNDRR)预计,到2030年,我们每年将看到560起灾难,使3760万人陷入极端贫困。 科学表明,我们处在风险热点地区。不仅与极端降雨和冰冻圈变化相关,还有热浪、干旱和空气污染。因此,在计算这次季风事件的成本时,我们所有为该地区及其居民服务的人都有责任以更高的速度和更强的雄心,将科学、政策和行动联系起来,实现让所有人都能得到早期预警的目标。 我们急需捐助者深入了解该地区居民所面临的风险,无论是从危险量级和程度来看,还是从受影响的人口规模来看。我们迫切需要适应基金、绿色气候基金和儿童投资融资基金更快地分配到该地区,以及加强补偿机制的运作。 在ICIMOD,我们将在全球范围内倡导双方,还将在整个地区努力建立一种围绕防灾和数据共享文化;对政策制定者进行差异和关键行动领域的教育;为社区配备创新及可行的技术,并扩大以社区为基础的洪水预警系统。 我们所在地区的情况表明,全球范围内面临的灾害存在着巨大的不平等。我们的研究发现,当危机来临时,妇女和弱势群体受到的影响尤为严重。 为了消除这种不平等,我们郑重承诺通过整合工具、知识和资金,确保该地区居民能够有效抵御未来的冲击,并将妇女和弱势群体纳入我们战略的核心。对于兴都库什-喜马拉雅的国家而言,全民早期预警尚需更及时的实现。 白马·嘉措 总干事
Two issues were central for us this month: the need to challenge gender inequality and understanding the various dimensions and ...
The impacts of multiple drivers of change such as climate change, globalization, land use change, economic liberalization, migration, etc. have ...