INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kathmandu, May 1The Himalayan Climate Boot Camp, an expedition initiated by science and environment journalists from
Nepal, India and Bangladesh to the Everest region to study tough and underreported terrains -- thought to be the first ever expedition of
its kind -- has concluded.
Prime Minister Deuba returns from India visit
Himalayan Climate Boot Camp 2022 taking science journalists to unchartered heights
The Camp, which was organized by the Nepal Forum of Science Journalists (NFSJ) and funded by
the Spark Grant Initiative of the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ), was held from April 21-26 and ended with a debriefing
session at the UNESCO office in Kathmandu on the 27th.
In the closing event, journalists from three countries in the Koshi
river basin – Bangladesh, India and Nepal – and mentors shared their experiences and observations from the boot camp.A total of 18
participants which included eight journalists, three mentors, four members of the project team, a representative from UNESCO, an Austrian
guest journalist and a student observer, shared their views on many facets of climate change and its impacts on lives and livelihoods of
people in the region.
Photo Courtesy: Himalayan Climate Boot Camp
Chief Editor of Nature India and one of the mentors of HCBC Subhra Priyadarshini shared that "Taking journalists to the Everest region and
allowing them this first-hand experience of the effects of climate change in itself is a huge achievement of this unique project."Chhatra
Karki, team leader of the project, said that this event would help build a solid network of South Asian science and environment journalists
and lay foundation for exchange programmes.Similarly, Fellow visual journalist Zakir Hussain Chaudhury from Bangladesh said, "It was
eye-opening to see the growing impact of climate change in the region.""The bootcamp has been an exciting journey to navigate deeper into
the underreported dimensions of climate change and environment," said Arathi Menon, one of the journalist fellows from India.HCBC mentor Dr
Sudeep Thakuri, a climate scientist and Dean of Mid-Western University in Surkhet, Nepal, said the boot camp was the first such event he had
"Although I have presented several research papers in conferences on the climate change in the high mountains, this is a unique initiative
to bridge climate science and science journalism.''Michael Croft, UNESCO's Head of Office and Representative to Nepal said UNESCO looks
forward to working with the various journalist associations in the South Asian region on common agendas of science, education and
culture.The boot camp was an opportunity to interact with local policymakers, conservation officers, environmental managers, security
personnel, Sherpa porters, women agricultural workers and entrepreneurs, school teachers and students as well as trekking guides working in
the Lukla, Monju, Phakding, Khumbu, Khumjung and Namche areas of the Himalayan region, and understand the socio-cultural, economic and
political dimensions of climate change.Under the close supervision of the three mentors, journalist fellows will now work on story ideas
that they finalized during the boot camp.The project team firmly believes that the climate stories from the HCBC will not only add to the
body of science journalism in the region but also bring in new perspective to the climate issues experienced by the journalists.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com