Page last updated at 11:26 GMT, Friday, 4 December 2009

Nepal cabinet holds meeting on Mount Everest

Nepal cabinet meeting on Mount Everest
The 21 ministers travelled by helicopter to close to Everest base camp

Nepalese ministers have held the world's highest cabinet meeting on Mount Everest, to raise awareness of the effects of climate change.


PM Madhav Kumar Nepal told the BBC the Himalayas were "a global treasure" that needed to be protected.



Nawang Tenge, monk

The entire cabinet of 21 ministers travelled in a fleet of helicopters to Kalipatar - a plateau at 5,200m (17,000ft) next to Everest's base camp.


During their half-hour meeting, the ministers - some wearing oxygen masks to help them breathe in the thin air - endorsed a resolution on climate change, which they called the Sagarmatha Declaration (or Everest Declaration in Nepali).

"We wanted to stress one point: that the Himalayas are a global treasure," Mr Nepal told the BBC.

Joanna Jolly
Joanna Jolly, BBC News, Syangboche

The ministers sat outside at a specially provided table - complete with table cloth - with a view of Mount Everest behind them.

Some wore oxygen masks which had been provided as a precaution against altitude sickness.

There is growing concern in Nepal about rising temperatures in the Himalayan region that have led to decreased snow fall and glacier melt.

The prime minister said he hoped this cabinet meeting would help focus the world's attention on climate change in the Himalayas ahead of the Copenhagen summit next week.




"For us, nature is God. But we are not treating our God fairly and that is why we are facing problems," he told the AFP news agency.

"Last year, there was no rain or snow here and the temperatures go up with every passing year."

Mingma, a 47-year-old inn keeper, said he was glad the government was "taking initiatives before it is too late".

"Usually authorities tend to act only after accidents. We are now hopeful that something might be done," he told the AP news agency.


Mr Nepal said the mountain range played "an important role in global atmospheric circulation and a centre for unique biodiversity".




"The fact is that the glaciers are melting due to global warming. That has become a critical issue and we want to draw global attention to it," Mr Sharma told AFP.


The cabinet meeting comes after the government of the Maldives - the world's lowest-lying country - held an underwater cabinet meeting in October to highlight the threat to their territory from rising sea levels.

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