The third International Conference on ‘Mountain Hydrology and Meteorology for sustainable development’ concluded with adoption of ‘Kathmandu Declaration, 2017.’

The conference held here from April 10 to 11 brought together over 200 participants from 17 countries.

The declaration has reaffirmed the importance of hydrology and meteorology for sustainable development of the mountain region and the basic rights of people living in mountainous regions to water, food and energy. It also highlighted the challenges of building societies adaptive and resilient to climate change under uncertainties.

According to the declaration, there is a need for a sound scientific and indigenous knowledge base and the human resources to resolve the existing and future challenges of water resources development and their impacts on the cryosphere, especially in the context of the changing climate in mountainous regions. A comprehensive approach is essential to improve the hydrological and meteorological sciences are essential to achieve sustainable development in the mountainous region.

The conference called on the concerned government authorities, multi/bilateral agencies to hold an international conference to advance the science of hydrology, meteorology and cryosphere and to promote citizen science.

It also appealed all to re-energise and strengthen the networks of hydrologists, meteorologists and other interdisciplinary scientists with the goal of promoting information and knowledge exchange, enhancing public awareness, influencing policies and contributing to capacity building for sustainable development.

“It is the need of hour to establish a Regional Centre of Excellence on Climate Change and Cryospheric Research in the Himalayan Region in Nepal and make available sufficient funds to do scientific research using the latest equipment on mountain hydrology and meteorology including the Himalayan glaciers to overcome the negative impacts of climate change on water resources,” read the declaration.

“We call upon, with a sense of urgency, all international and national institutions, including NGOs and private sector, who are committed to and have been mandated for sustainable mountain development in general and sustainable development of the Himalayas in particular to contribute to and participate in implementing the Kathmandu Declaration,” it added.