Proposal for a Roundtable on Himalayan Climate Risk, Human Rights and Transboundary Scientific Cooperation

From: Telnes, Einar <Einar.Telnes@mfa.no>
Date: Tue, Sep 15, 2026 at 8:14 AM
Subject: RE: Proposal for a Roundtable on Himalayan Climate Risk, Human Rights and Transboundary Scientific Cooperation
To: lenin@pvchr.asia <lenin@pvchr.asia>
Cc: Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kathmandu <emb.kathmandu@mfa.no>

Dear Mr. Raghuvanshi,

Thank you for your email and for sharing your proposal on Himalayan Climate Risk, Human Rights, and Transboundary Scientific Cooperation Roundtable.

We appreciate your engagement on these important issues and note the concerns and recommendations outlined in your open letter regarding climate-related risks in the Himalayan region.

 From the Embassy’s side, we have already committed to participating at a meeting hosted by NDRRMA/Government of Nepal and ICIMOD in Kathmandu this week,  that will address many of the themes you mention. The event will bring together stakeholders working on climate change, cryosphere-related risks, and regional cooperation in the Himalayan context from Nepal and neighbor countries, as well as representatives from the donor community. We encourage interested parties to engage with ongoing discussions and initiatives through the institutions and networks that already are active in this area.

 We appreciate your interest and your efforts to promote dialogue and cooperation on these issues.

  Best regards

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Einar Telnes

Counsellor, Climate and Renewable Energy

Royal Norwegian Embassy, Nepal

Email: Einar.Telnes@mfa.no

Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kathmandu

10543 Trimurti Marg, Bakhundole, Lalitpur, Nepal

Mobile: +977 980 1969 991

Office: +977 (1) 980 108 8596

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From: Lenin Raghuvanshi <lenin@pvchr.asia>
Sent: Sunday, 13 September 2026 00:58:37
To: Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kathmandu <emb.kathmandu@mfa.no>
Cc: Sushil Pyakurel <sushil.pyakurel@gmail.com>
Subject: Proposal for a Roundtable on Himalayan Climate Risk, Human Rights and Transboundary Scientific Cooperation

 

 

Your Excellency,

Greetings from the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR), India.

I am writing to respectfully request your kind consideration and support for organising a Roundtable Dialogue in Nepal on Himalayan Climate Risk, Human Rights and Transboundary Scientific Cooperation.

On 30 August 2026, I issued an Open Letter to the leaders of India, China, Nepal, the United Nations and the international community, entitled:

“The Himalayas Are Sending a Warning: A Scientific Call to Assess and Manage Every Ice-Pond and Cryospheric Risk.”

The Open Letter calls for urgent regional and international cooperation to move from disaster response towards scientific prevention, early warning and protection of human life and dignity.

Among other measures, it proposes:

• scientific assessment and monitoring of potentially hazardous ice ponds, glacial lakes and other cryospheric water bodies;

• a permanent India–China–Nepal mechanism for scientific data and emergency information-sharing;

• establishment of a Himalayan Transboundary Cryosphere and Hydrological Risk Observatory;

• stronger cross-border early-warning mechanisms;

• integration of scientific knowledge with the knowledge and participation of Himalayan communities; and

• international financing for climate adaptation, scientific monitoring and community-led disaster preparedness.

The complete Open Letter is available here:

https://endingfascism.blogspot.com/2026/08/open-letter-to-leaders-of-india-china.html

In this context, I respectfully propose that, with the encouragement and participation of your Embassy and appropriate institutions in Nepal, we organise a roundtable bringing together diplomats, scientists, human-rights defenders, climate and disaster-risk experts, civil society organisations and representatives of affected Himalayan communities.

I would particularly like to request the involvement of Shri Sushil Pyakurel, distinguished Nepali human-rights defender and Gwangju Human Rights Awardee, in this initiative. I am copying Shri Pyakurel on this communication and believe that his long experience in the human-rights movement would provide an important bridge between climate science, public policy, regional cooperation and the rights and dignity of vulnerable communities.

The proposed roundtable could explore practical pathways for:

  1. India–Nepal–China cooperation on Himalayan cryosphere and hydrological risks;
  2. cross-border exchange of scientific and early-warning information;
  3. community-centred disaster preparedness and climate adaptation;
  4. recognition of climate vulnerability as a human-rights and human-security concern;
  5. cooperation with ICIMOD, UN agencies, universities and scientific institutions; and
  6. development of a longer-term regional platform for Himalayan climate justice, science and human dignity.

As emphasised in the Open Letter, political boundaries cannot contain glaciers, rivers, landslides or flood waves. Scientific cooperation and timely exchange of information can therefore become an important instrument for protecting lives while also strengthening trust among neighbouring countries.

The proposed dialogue would not seek to politicise the Himalayan environmental challenge. Rather, it would create a constructive space where science, diplomacy, human rights and community knowledge can come together around the shared objective of preventing avoidable loss of life.

I would be grateful for an opportunity to discuss this proposal with Your Excellency and your colleagues and to explore the possibility of convening such a roundtable in Nepal.

I am copying Shri Sushil Pyakurel (sushil.pyakurel@gmail.com) with the hope that he may kindly join us in developing this initiative.

Your Excellency, the Himalayas connect our countries environmentally, culturally and historically. At a moment of accelerating climatic change, they can also become a region where international cooperation demonstrates that science can become prevention, prevention can become protection, and protection can begin with human dignity.

With highest regards,

Lenin Raghuvanshi
Founder-Convenor
People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)
Varanasi, India

CC:
Shri Sushil Pyakurel
Gwangju Human Rights Awardee
Email: sushil.pyakurel@gmail.com

Reference:
Open Letter to the Leaders of India, China, Nepal, the United Nations and the International Community
30 August 2026
https://endingfascism.blogspot.com/2026/08/open-letter-to-leaders-of-india-china.html

Lenin Raghuvanshi

Visiting Senior Fellow, IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute IMPRI Profile 

Founder-Convenor, People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) 

Former CEO, JanMitra Nyas, Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC of the United Nations

SA 4/2 A Daulatpur, Varanasi - 221002, India 

Mobile: +91-9335688938

Email: lenin@pvchr.asia 

Website: https://pvchr.asia/, Personal Website 

Wikipedia: Lenin Raghuvanshi, PVCHR 

Blog: Lenin Raghuvanshi's Blog 

Follow us on Facebook: Lenin Raghuvanshi Facebook Page

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