WWF

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Climate Change is now a foregone conclusion. The trouble is, Despite preponderance of scientific evidence suggesting links between unsustainable human behaviour and the phenomenon of Climate Change, the world has paid little attention to address this pressing issue.

UNFCCC negotiations and the resulting Kyoto Protocol does offer some silver lining, yet, the response of human kind thus far has been grossly inadequate in both fronts- to adapt to Climate Change in the intermediate terms, and to mitigate its root causes in the longer term. The situation looks even graver when one looks at the response of human kind to deal with impacts of Climate Change and Global Warming in the Himalayas.

The Himalayas being the youngest and therefore most ecologically fragile mountains of the world remain highly vulnerable to impacts of climate change. The recent erratic climate patterns being experienced by the inhabitants of the Himalayan region are all hinting towards linkages with Climate Change. The people in the region have literally started feeling the heat of Global Warming. Governments and Media in Nepal and other Himalayan countries have been, for a while, reporting and recognizing several manifestations of Climate change but as freak and stand-alone incidents, without recognizing a pattern in these series of events, and ascribing them to their real cause, which in most cases, appears to be Climate Change. In the want of awareness and political will, any concerted effort to tackle this problem remains a far cry. The situation on the ground demands a greater sense of urgency from the local populace and its leadership. It also demands a collective action on the part of the international community to safeguard this global heritage, and the population and bio-diversity that inhabit it.

CLIMATE-FOR-LIFE is fundamentally a communication campaign intended to plug the awareness gap within the populace and decision makers in the Himalayan countries and the western world. The ultimate aim of the campaign is to bring about an increased sense of responsibility about plight of the Himalayas, globally, eventually leading to decisive action on the ground.

Apa Sherpa and Dawa Steven Sherpa are Ambassadors for Climate for Life Campaign, and will be available all through 2009 to highlight the campaign message worldwide. WWF and the Campaign Team salute their efforts. Apa, 19 times Everest summiteer will be a WWF Climate Witness this year talking to the world about his firsthand experience witnessing the impacts of Climate Change in the Himalayas. Dawa, a two times Everest summiteer and known for his commitment to environment, has already been a WWF Climate Witness in the past. These and several other campaign ambassadors will help WWF reach its audience.

At the national level, an increased level of awareness among the general public, media, youth, policy-makers on the impacts of climate change in the Himalayas; the incorporation of CLIMATE SMART strategies into the plans and policies of the government and Business and Industries of Nepal as well as international development agencies active in Nepal.

DESIRED OUTCOMES OF THE CAMPAIGN
GLOBAL: An increased sense of responsibility among the general public, the scientific community and decision makers on the impacts of Climate Change in the Himalayas leading to substantial support for Nepal and other Himalayan countries.

NATIONAL: An increased level of awareness among media, youth, policy-makers and the general public on the impacts of climate change in the Himalayas leading to an informed and effective stance of the country at Copenhagen COP 15 summit.

ROLE OF WWF IN THE CAMPAIGN
WWF, on the part of its Global Network, is committed to leave no stone unturned to influence global leaders to reach to a meaningful and ambitious target to reduce GHG emissions, and innovate and promote mechanisms to achieve such targets at UNFCCC COP 15 summit at Copenhagen.

WWF Nepal will facilitate Climate-For-Life campaign by forging partnerships, and running events to support the campaign. Such partnerships will not be limited to like-minded government agencies and NGOs but also with organizations that hitherto have not been paying much attention to Climate Change.

WWF Nepal shall lead WWF network offices across the globe to maximize media coverage and outreach internationally. WWF offices in the region, in particular Pakistan, China, India and Bhutan, shall collaborate with WWF Nepal to magnify the impact and reach of this campaign within Asia. WWF shall report of the outcome of this campaign periodically to all stakeholders.

SIGNIFICANCE OF YEAR 2009
2009 will probably be the most important year for international negotiations on Climate Change. With several build-up meetings at regional and global level being lined up in the coming months to negotiate the future of human response to Climate change leading eventually to Copenhagen Conference of Parties in December 2009- the time to act is now.

CAMPAIGN DURATION
The campaign started in April 2009, and shall continue till December 2009.


Download Campaign Brochure.