Bangladesh Must Stand With Nepal
Nepal, a landlocked country situated at the foot of the Himalayas, attracts millions of tourists from around the world every year because of its breathtaking natural beauty. Known as the “daughter of the Himalayas,” the country’s tourism sector is a major source of remittance income. However, Nepal has faced a series of devastating natural disasters in recent years.
In April 2015, a massive earthquake and landslides killed nearly 9,000 people and injured more than 22,000. Hundreds of foreign tourists were among the victims. At the time, Bangladesh, neighboring countries and the international community extended assistance to Nepal. The damage and scars caused by disasters that kill thousands and destroy homes and infrastructure cannot be erased within a few years. Before Nepal could fully recover from that catastrophe, the country has once again been struck by devastating mountain floods and landslides. On Wednesday, flash floods, mountain torrents and landslides hit areas of northern Nepal near the Tibetan border. More than 300 people had reportedly died and over 1,500 remained missing by Thursday. Most of the dead and missing were tourists from countries including India, the United States, Australia and Canada.
Although such natural disasters in the Himalayan region are deeply unfortunate, they are no longer entirely unexpected. For decades, meteorologists and environmental experts have warned that global warming and climate change are causing glaciers and ice formations in the Himalayas to melt at an alarming rate, increasing the risks of sea-level rise, landslides and extreme flooding. Wednesday’s mountain torrent was so sudden that local residents had virtually no time to react. Millions of tons of melting ice, rocks and soil rushed down from the mountains, destroying and sweeping away everything in their path. This was not an ordinary flood but a catastrophic combination of collapsing glaciers, landslides and water. Bridges, riverside settlements, tourist facilities and other infrastructure were destroyed within moments. The climate-related disasters caused by global warming are no longer limited to Nepal, Bangladesh, India or African countries. In recent years, European countries have also experienced deadly heatwaves and wildfires, while extreme weather events linked to El Niño have claimed thousands of lives.
Although numerous global initiatives have been discussed since the 1990s to address these threats, little meaningful progress has been made. Neither developed nor developing countries have come close to achieving their targets for reducing carbon emissions. Instead of substantially reducing fossil-fuel use and expanding renewable energy, global competition over oil and gas has contributed to increased wars, conflicts and tensions.
Climate-related disasters can no longer simply be dismissed as unavoidable natural calamities. To a significant extent, they are now considered human-induced disasters. The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in Japan in 1997 under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, established legally binding commitments for participating countries. Yet major powers, including the United States, the European Union, Russia, China and India, have continued industrial expansion and increased fossil-fuel consumption despite climate commitments.
Under the US-led unipolar global order, there have also been commitments to invest in clean development in developing countries. In practice, however, priorities have often moved in the opposite direction. Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent annually on military development and warfare, while far less is invested in sustainable development, poverty reduction, healthcare, nutrition and education. The consequences of conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, are increasingly being borne by ordinary people around the world. Political borders may separate countries, but geographically and ecologically, the world is interconnected. Almost all major rivers in this region originate in the glaciers of the Himalayas and Tibet. If Himalayan glaciers collapse or melt at an abnormal rate, the entire region could lose its environmental balance, potentially displacing hundreds of millions of people.
That is why the latest floods and landslides in Nepal should once again prompt serious global reflection. It has become imperative to stand beside those affected by the disaster. In particular, neighboring countries such as China, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh should participate in emergency relief and rescue operations. Bangladesh has supported Nepal during natural disasters in the past. This time too, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has announced Bangladesh’s support for the flood-affected people of Nepal. Among the missing tourists are citizens of the United States, Australia, Canada and India. Like Bangladesh, Nepal has also established a new democratic government following a Gen Z-led revolution. Balendra Shah, representing the revolutionaries, had been serving as Nepal’s prime minister for only five months when the country was struck by this disaster. Similarly, the Tarique Rahman government in Bangladesh is confronting numerous challenges after taking office amid the economic damage and energy-security crisis left by the previous government.
Despite these challenges, Bangladesh’s government and people should continue to stand beside Nepal with assistance and solidarity during this difficult time. At the same time, ensuring the security of shared rivers and the region’s interconnected geography requires coordinated multilateral regional and international initiatives.
