KATHMANDU, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established an environment diplomacy division under the ministry for the first time to strengthen diplomatic efforts on climate change and environmental issues amid the country's growing vulnerability to climate-induced disasters, the ministry said on Sunday.
The deadly mudslide of Aug. 26 has claimed at least 1,411 lives, while 5,875 people, including Nepali and foreign nationals, remained missing as of Saturday evening, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
A report by World Weather Attribution last week said that human-caused global warming had thinned glaciers and thawed mountain permafrost, which likely contributed to destabilizing a Himalayan slope that collapsed last month, triggering the disaster in Nepal.
Given Nepal's vulnerability to widespread destruction from the impacts of global warming in the Himalayas, the government decided to establish a separate division within the Foreign Ministry to carry out focused diplomacy on climate change and environmental issues.
"The ministry decided to establish the division in view of the growing impacts of climate change and the need to address emerging challenges through a dedicated institutional mechanism," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Nepal has been consistently participating in national, regional and international forums on climate change and environmental protection. "The new division has been established to advance these efforts in a more coordinated and institutionalized manner," the ministry said. "The division will facilitate international diplomatic initiatives related to climate and environmental issues and coordinate with relevant national agencies."
Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said in the statement that climate diplomacy should not be limited to participation in international conferences and events but should instead be pursued as a long-term institutional priority.
"Nepal has been continuously working on climate diplomacy at various international forums. Now, there is a need to institutionalize these efforts further," he said. ■