Kathmandu, Mar. 8: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Information and Communications Ram Chandra Poudel inaugurated the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ipcc) third working group  here today.

Participating in the eight day meeting being held with the objective of discussing and seeking solutions to the problem of atmospheric pollution arising from technology transfer, factories and vehicular traffic  are experts involved in the study of climate and climate change from l00 of the more than l79 member countries of the World Metereological Organisation (wmo).

The meeting is being conducted in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, a first in Nepal.

Addressing the inaugural  function, Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel said the discovery of hole in the ozOn layer, the erratic weather patterns we now experience, the misery of industrial and vehicular emission and the enormous amounts of toxic water generated in the process of mass manufacturing to appease our hunger for ever increasing consumerism makes one wonder if the present development model followed by modern civilization is the right one.

Despite tremendous technological advances, the gap between individuals, developed and developing nations and the affluent and deprived members of society appears to be ever widening, he said.

It is high time for scientists, technicians, economists and also political leaders to critically review our achievements and failures before a great calamity threatens to eliminate our very existence and the balance of our delicate ecosystem, he said.

It is the grinding poverty of the people that has contributed to degradation and unsustainable energy use, he said adding that poverty   forms a vicious cycle which in turn increases green house gas emissions.

The expanding cities and towns of the developing countries are compelled to use cheap and old vehicles, and people in the towns tend to blindly follow western civilization’s luxury and comfort, which again helps pollute the environment, he observed.

Refering to the recent government decision to restrict the import of vechiles to Nepal which do not meet the Euro 1 standerd and the displacement of three wheeler diesel operated vikram  tempos from Kathmandu, he said our community forest programme is beginning to reveal symptoms of success in the middle hills and mountains of Nepal.

These measures are not sufficent, and climate change has already indicated its presence in the Himalayas of Nepal with significant addition in the snow and glacier melt runoff, he said.

Also speaking on the occasion, Minister for Agriculture Chakra Prasad Bastola said global warming and climate change are no  longer a myth but a scientifically observed fact, and it influences different sectors like water resources and agriculture, and has a great inpact over the life on earth.

All over the world, lives of residents of lowlands, marginal lands and densely populated areas will be dramatically threatened by this global warming, he said.

Nepal possesses diverse biological resources and various climatic patterns and may be an excllent laboratory for study and research in this vital subject, he observed adding however that many of the natural resources are now being depleted due climate change, and biodiversity, a vital factor for human survival, is also at risk.

Minister of State for Population and Environment Bhakta Bahadur Balayar said Nepal is fully aware of the disastrous impact of climate change and has taken several precautionary measures towards abatement of green-house gases.

In this regard he referred to the enforcement of the Nepal Vehicle Mass Emission Standard 2056, which have been based on the paramenters prescribed by the Euro 1 standards, adding that actions have been initiated to improve the air quality of the Kathmandu Valley.

Acting secretary at the Ministry of Science and Technology Mohan Bahadur Karki said the problem is not in transferring technology only but “environmentally sound technologies” to developing countries including expertise and other necessary tools.

Director general of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology Adarsha P. Pokhrel said even though the effects of global warming have been observed globally, regional peculiarities have been very conspicuous like the retreat of the Himalayan glaciers.

The Tsho Rolpa glacier lake in Dolakha district which was a tiny dot during the l950’s extended to such an extent that His Majesty’s Government had to take immediate mitigation measures to save the lives of thousands of people living in the downstream areas from a potential glacier lake outburst flood, he observed.

Ipcc chairman Dr Robert Waston and ipcc co-chariman Dr Ogunlade Davidson also spoke on the occasion.