People’s Forum to address climate injustice before Sagarmatha Sambaad

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, May 3 : A wide range of groups are coming together on May 4, 2025, to hold the People’s Forum, an important event taking place before the Sagarmatha Sambaad. 

“The forum brings together a wide range of participants,” said Geeta Pandey, a member of the People’s Forum Secretariat and Director of Policy Advocacy and Research at Karnali Integrated Rural Development and Research Centre (KIRDARC) Nepal.

Informing the press about the Forum on Friday, she said that the participants include unions, federations, networks, alliances and women’s groups. It also brings together smallholder farmers, generational champions, activists, environmental and human rights defenders and children, she added.

In addition, persons with disabilities, minorities and representatives from indigenous, mountain, lowland, marginalised and frontline communities will also take part. The People’s Forum aims to highlight and address the growing inequality and injustice faced by vulnerable communities that are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis.

At least 50 organisations are joining hands to organise the People’s Forum. They described the event as a vital platform to amplify the voices of those often left out of high-level climate dialogues and to push for urgent, people-centered climate action.

The Forum will bring together around 500 participants and will engage governments and policymakers, climate experts and researchers, international agencies development partners, and the private sector to foster collaboration and build solidarity. 

The People’s Forum aims to amplify people's voices by ensuring meaningful representation and participation during Sagarmatha Sambaad, 

Pandey said.

The Forum will follow a structured modality to ensure inclusive dialogue and meaningful engagement. It will begin with an Opening Session, featuring keynote speeches from climate justice advocates, Indigenous leaders, youth representatives, child representatives and policymakers, setting the stage for discussions. 

This will be followed by sharing from affected communities, the core of the forum will be thematic panel discussions, fostering multi-stakeholder dialogue among experts, community leaders, youths, children, policymakers and civil society organisations. 

The forum will conclude with the People’s Forum Declaration, summarising key outcomes, which will serve as an advocacy tool for ensuring the concerns of vulnerable communities are elevated at Sagarmatha Sambaad, according to Pandey.

Speaking at the programme Devi Khadka, Secretary-General, NGO Federation of Nepal, said that People’s Forum would offer a vital space for mountain communities to raise their concerns and share their stories, challenges and solutions. 

The people’s forum calls for the conservation of the commons as a key demand for achieving climate justice at all levels. This includes ensuring just and equitable access and sustainable management of shared resources such as water, forests and land to empower communities and safeguard their resilience against climate impacts, organisers said.