In a landmark gathering that drew more than 100 parliamentarians and experts from across eight nations, the Hindu Kush Himalaya Parliamentarians’ Meet-2025 convened in Kathmandu on August 18 and 19, 2025, to confront the mounting environmental crises threatening the region. Leaders from Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, India, Afghanistan, and China united to address the urgent challenges of climate change, air pollution, and biodiversity loss—a triple planetary crisis now impacting the daily lives of over two billion people who depend on the vast resources of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region.
Opening the two-day session, Nepal’s President Ramchandra Paudel set a somber yet determined tone. "Climate change, biodiversity loss and air pollution are no longer confined to scientific reports, they have become the harsh reality of our daily lives," he declared, as reported by The Rising Nepal. The President emphasized that the rivers, forests, and fertile farmlands of the HKH, which have long sustained life and livelihoods, are now under unprecedented threat. He called the parliamentarians’ meeting a "historic opportunity to set a roadmap for our common and sustainable future"—a chance, he said, to demonstrate strong commitment to the region’s geography, mountains, forests, rivers, and atmosphere.
President Paudel pressed for stronger laws to promote climate-friendly development, clear standards to control air pollution, and robust legal protections for biodiversity. He also insisted on parliamentary accountability in monitoring programs, ensuring transparency in resource allocation, and assessing results. "The Hindu Kush Himalaya region is rich in biodiversity and home to rare plants and animals, but that the loss of biodiversity is already affecting food security, cultural heritage, species survival, and even the overall economy," he warned. Despite these daunting challenges, the President praised member states for progress in expanding national parks, modernizing wildlife monitoring, working with local communities, promoting electric vehicles, and controlling industrial emissions.
The meeting’s urgency was underscored by recent disasters. Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba, Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, reminded attendees of the massive floods in India, Pakistan, and Nepal in the weeks leading up to the summit. These floods claimed many lives, destroyed homes and infrastructure, and left communities reeling. "We feel it deeply in the grief of mourning families, the displacement of communities and the loss of livelihoods," she said, recalling the devastation. Dr. Deuba also referenced the Sagarmatha Sambaad held in Kathmandu in May 2025, which produced the Sagarmatha Call for Action—a 25-point roadmap for urgent climate action. "We believe, and we continue to believe, that the highest point on Earth must also serve as a moral high ground for environmental justice," she asserted. "Climate change respects no borders, no flags, no political divisions. That is why we must come together, sharing experiences, learning from one another and forging solutions that are bold, inclusive and impactful."
The HKH region—often called the "water tower of Asia" and the "Third Pole"—contains the largest mass of ice outside the polar zones. It is the source of ten major Asian rivers, supporting 240 million mountain residents and an additional 1.65 billion people downstream. Yet, according to Pema Gyamtsho, Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the region faces "accelerated impacts from the triple planetary crises—climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss." Speaking at the summit, Gyamtsho noted, "Glaciers are melting faster than ever before and together with other climatic events, they are facing a situation of either too much or too little water. Floods and droughts are often occurring at the same time in different parts of our region."
Gyamtsho revealed a staggering figure: HKH countries, including Bangladesh, require around USD 740 billion annually for both adaptation and mitigation. He called for evidence-based policies, innovative solutions, informed decisions, increased and targeted investment, and collaborative actions. "As parliamentarians, your role as people’s elected representatives in enacting laws, influencing policies, reviewing development plans and allocating resources, and advocating for mass participation has never been more important and crucial than it is now," he said. He also highlighted that 70–80% of the original habitat in the HKH has already been lost, undermining ecosystems, livelihoods, and increasing human-wildlife conflict. The Indo-Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills are now among the world’s most polluted regions, with PM2.5 levels often exceeding 400 micrograms per cubic meter—posing major risks to health, agriculture, and the economy.
Minister for Forest and Environment Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri shared Nepal’s recent experiences with climate-induced disasters. In July 2025, floods and landslides in Rasuwa district claimed more than 20 lives in a single night, causing billions of rupees in damages. The Tarai-Madesh region, meanwhile, suffered from prolonged delays in rainfall, leading to water scarcity and threatening food security. "Despite these problems, Nepal is making every effort in mitigation and adaptation—progress in renewable energy production, promotion of electric vehicles, implementation of local adaptation plans, establishment of early warning systems in rivers and glacial lakes, and adoption of Euro-6 standards for controlling air pollution are some examples," Minister Thakuri explained.
Thakuri also stressed the need for equitable access to climate finance, expansion of adaptation support, and concrete steps to address loss and damage through international and regional cooperation. "Regional cooperation is indispensable to tackle these shared challenges," he said. This sentiment was echoed by parliamentarians from across the region, who, in a joint declaration issued at the close of the meeting, recognized the shared ecological, social, and economic importance of the HKH. The declaration called for deepening regional solidarity and cooperation to build an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future.
Pakistan’s Chairperson of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Climate Change, Munaza Hassan, described the Parliamentarians’ Meet as "more than dialogue—it is the call to arms of our generation." She urged, "We must forge a regional pact of climate solidarity: to legislate together, to innovate together, to speak with one voice in global negotiations. The world must know—the mountains that unite us are not only our shared heritage, they are our shared line of defence." Deputy Speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Surriya Bibi, highlighted the devastating toll of recent floods in her region, where at least 357 people lost their lives, including 41 women and 29 children. "Climate change is indeed a global issue with disproportionate impacts on the world’s poor," she said, calling for global cooperation and support from wealthier nations.
The joint declaration from the Kathmandu summit underscored the importance of maintaining the 1.5-degree Celsius target of the Paris Agreement, ensuring access to climate finance, expanding adaptation support, and addressing loss and damage through coordinated action. The parliamentarians also emphasized their role in developing climate-friendly policies, strengthening legal frameworks for biodiversity conservation and pollution control, and ensuring transparency in government programs.
As the summit concluded, there was a clear sense of urgency and shared purpose. ICIMOD’s Director General Gyamtsho summed it up: "Together we can build resilient ecosystems that support the well-being of our communities. We have the science, we have the data, we know enough to act now. What we need is an effective regional mechanism for taking collective actions. It’s time for action—in our own countries as well as jointly as a region before it’s too late."
The Kathmandu gathering may have been just a first step, but for the millions whose lives depend on the fragile balance of the Hindu Kush Himalaya, it could prove a pivotal one—if words are matched by action and solidarity across borders.
