INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
LALITPUR: Climate change was the major topic of discussion in the press meet held today on the commencement of the 38th Executive Committee
meeting of CITYNET and an international seminar on Heritage and Sustainable Tourism.
The meeting which is to be held from November 6 to 8,
was hosted by Lalitpur Metropolitan City, one of the members of CITYNET, an organisation of the municipalities of Asia Pacific region which
is working in the field of sustainable urban development.
Founded in 1987, CITYNET boasts of 135 municipalities, NGOs and international
organisers working together to build resilient and sustainable cities.
The press meet was led by General Secretary of CITYNET, Vijay
Jagannathan and Lalitpur Metropolitan City Mayor, Chiribabu Maharjan.
&It may sound like a story of a science-fiction movie, but if we
aren&t serious about climate change, there is a huge risk for more destruction,& said General Secretary Jagannath
He shared that one of the primary agenda of the organisation is to connect the local government and stakeholders of the member cities and
municipalities for proper management aiming for sustainable development.
Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City, Chiribabu Maharjan speaks
during the press meet of the 38th Executive Committee meeting of CITYNET, in Hotel Himalaya, Lalitpur, on Wednesday, November 7, 2019
Photo: Ankit Khadgi/THT Online
Talking about the possible ways of reducing the carbon footprint through options like carpooling, share
riding, use of electric vehicles and waste management, General Secretary expressed that definition of prosperity should be held towards the
direction of climate-friendly development.
Keeping in mind the impact of single-use plastics, the organisers of the press meet served water
in steel jars instead of plastic bottles.
Meanwhile, Mayor Maharjan who shared that his office was concerned about the implications of
climate change stated that the Metropolitan City is making a series of policies as an effort from their side to combat climate change.
&We
are planting more trees and building green parks to make our area greener,& said Maharjan.
Talking about the possible ways of reducing
carbon emissions from vehicles, Maharjan shared that Lalitpur Metropolitan City is investing in buying electric vehicles and is planning to
construct bicycle lanes, and in addition, garden and parks in every ward for increasing open spaces.
As many as 88 foreign delegates,
including 14 mayors and heads of various international organisations and 43 local delegates are participating in the programme.
After the
press meet, Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun inaugurated the formal meeting of CITYNET at Patan Durbar Square.
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