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Climate change is a global crisis wreaking havoc on our planet, from intensifying natural disasters to disrupting ecosystems and economies. As the world grapples with this urgent challenge, young people are emerging as powerful catalysts for change. Their passion, innovation, and unwavering determination are reshaping the climate movement and inspiring hope for a sustainable future.

Youths activists at forefront

Young people are at the forefront of the fight against climate change. They understand the immediacy of the climate change emergency more than ever. Consequently, they have organized major demonstrations on climate-related issues and are introducing environmentally friendly policies so that the way people relate to their environment will never be the same again. Their determination is driving us closer to a world with cleaner sources of power production, saving various plants and animal species from extinction as well as ensuring that neighborhoods are better connected.

In the last few years, the upsurge of the youth-driven climate movements has brought about real change. The global movement such as Fridays for Future, which stands out as the ones that are being led by youth like Greta Thunberg, brought together millions of people from all over the world demanding governments respond to climate change and invest now in prevention and recovery. The movement began as school strikes but turned into a global action where young people plan and participate in protests, calling for better climate policies. 

Aside from Thunberg, youth organizations co-founded by young activists such as Zero Hour, Sunrise Movement, and Youth Climate Strike have already mobilized young individuals from one corner of the globe to another to demand stronger climate policies. These movements focus on the ethical obligation of preventing the coming generations from destructive climate change and require countries and companies to eco-friendly behaviors.

Young people are not just talking about change; they are making it happen. They are creating new, green tech, like better solar power and ways to catch carbon, pushing us towards a cleaner world. They also choose to live in ways that don’t hurt the planet, preferring to buy things that are kind to Earth. This push from the youth is changing how we think about our daily choices and the things we buy. They are taking initiatives sustainably and are coming up with measures to deal with and adapt to the effects of climate change. The innovations, especially from solar energy technologies, are drastically changing the course of energy production and leading to a low-carbon economy. Young consumers who are more aware of the negative consequences of their consumption and are ready to sacrifice for the common good are the ones promoting sustainable consumption patterns and demanding eco-friendly products and services.

Challenges confronting the youth in climate activism

While youth are leading the charge on climate action, they are also the most affected. Illnesses occur more often among them due to excessive heat and poor air quality while their education and future job opportunities are disrupted by severe weather patterns. Young people living in low-income areas suffer most from economic challenges, particularly those who live on natural resources as their mainstay. 

What also affects these youth is the constant anxiety about climate change which leads to strain and depression. Noting these impacts, youth-led initiatives focus on climate justice calling for policies that are attentive to the needs of vulnerable communities and ensure adaptation measures are equitable. 

Furthermore, though youths make up a great population, whose efforts are impactful, many challenges exist along their journey of advocacy on matters of climate. Access to resources is limited, there are institutional barriers and skepticism from the older generation. Besides, activism on climate change may be emotionally draining due to the gigantic task ahead and the slow political process. However, these challenges also bring along great opportunities for teamwork and collaboration in action. 

As climate change is a global concern, different groups from governments to businesses, schools, and communities, can collaborate with young activists to develop new ideas and ensure that young voices are heard while coming up with fair rules that benefit the planet and everybody living on it. 

Supporting youth leadership for environmental policy

Empowering young people to become climate advocates does not just require encouragement but calls for proper support and education. This advanced knowledge, skill, and values in mitigating climate change can be imparted to these young minds by schools and colleges. Such school programs possess a critical opportunity to set a generation of informed citizens on the right path by introducing climate science at schools and promoting environmental literacy via enhancing critical thinking on matters of sustainability. 

It is also important to open up channels for youth participation at other levels of decision-making. Indeed, young people should be recognized by governments, the private sector, and civil society as major stakeholders in climate policy decisions. Active involvement of young people, and valuing their inputs, will enhance not only climate governance but also foster among the youth a sense of ownership and responsibility to take good care of our environment. Such efforts will help build a strong foundation for the growth of generations of young people who not only possess knowledge about many climate-related issues but are capable and empowered to make a difference at home and globally.

Lastly, youths from all around the world who are resolute, and leading the climate justice movement must take immediate action. Their resilience and strong ideas inspire hope for future generations to join them in the fight against climate change. Raising awareness, and collaborating may significantly impact the pursuit of a sustainable, equitable, and ecologically sound future for everyone. The engagement of youth in the battle against climate change presents a difficulty as well as a chance for change. For the sake of many future generations, we must band together in support of their activism and innovative pace.

Kenisha Adhikari

St Xavier’s Jawalakhel

SEE Batch 2023/24

Language is a system of communication used by humans to express thoughts, emotions, and information. Nepali, Hindi, Marathi, and Maithili are all part of the Indo-Aryan linguistic family. Among these, Maithili has a long history and cultural significance, especially in Nepal and India. It is predominantly spoken in the Mithila region, which includes parts of Nepal and the Indian state of Bihar.

The renowned 14th-century Maithili poet Vidyapati is often considered the founder of Maithili literature. His writings, characterized by deep emotional content and poetic beauty, have left a lasting impact on the language. Vidyapati’s poems of love, devotion, and nature continue to be celebrated for their literary excellence. Maithili, being a highly phonetic language, ensures that its written and spoken forms are pronounced almost identically.

The ancient Maithili script, Tirhuta, has been in use for millennia. While Maithili is now more commonly written in Devanagari, the Tirhuta script remains a symbol of the language’s historical and cultural heritage. Chhath Puja, a festival honoring the Sun God, is a well-known cultural tradition associated with Maithili. During this event, Maithili speakers preserve their cultural legacy by performing rituals and singing traditional songs in Maithili. Additionally, Maithili traditional music and dances, such as Sama-Chakeva and Jat-Jatin, play significant roles in social events and communal celebrations.

Today, Maithili is recognized as one of Nepal’s official languages and is listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution as one of India’s 22 scheduled languages. Efforts to promote the language include publishing Maithili literature, incorporating Maithili into school curricula, and broadcasting Maithili-language television and radio programs. Despite these initiatives, Maithili faces challenges from migration, urbanization, and the influence of mainstream languages like Hindi and English. Nevertheless, the determination and ongoing efforts of the Maithili-speaking community to promote their language through cultural and educational programs offer hope for its survival.

In the Eastern Tarai of Nepal and northern Bihar of India, once known as ancient and medieval Mithila or Tirhut, Maithili is spoken as a mother tongue. The evolution of the Maithili language and literature saw a significant period during the Karnata dynasty (1097-1324). The Bara district, about 30 kilometers east of Birgunj, is home to the remains of the Karnata capital city of Mithila, known as Simaraungadh. This era marked the emergence of modern Maithili.

Nanyadeva, the founder of the Karnata dynasty in Mithila, extended his power into the Kathmandu Valley. His successors continued to expand their military might and influence. Harisinghadeva, the last king of the Karnata dynasty, married Devalakshmidevi (Devaldevi), a princess from Bhaktapur and the daughter of Jayatungamalla. Another significant dynasty was the Sena dynasty of Makwanpur, which began in 1518. The Makwanpur fort, located about 16 kilometers east of Hetauda in the Makwanpur district of the Narayani Zone in Nepal, was central to this dynasty.

Political and cultural ties were maintained between the Mallas of the Kathmandu Valley and the Sena dynasty rulers. Maithili was the official language of Makwanpur, reflecting the interconnectedness of Nepal’s medieval political and cultural landscape. Maithili was evolving in the pre-medieval Karnata era but reached significant development during the later-medieval Sena period. Even the kings of the Kathmandu Valley composed plays and poetry in Maithili, underscoring the language's immense importance.

Although Maithili is the second most widely spoken language in Nepal, it is primarily spoken in the Madhes Province. Historically, it was the official state language throughout the Middle Ages, but its usage has increasingly declined. This decline can be attributed to various factors, including the concentration of political power, the predominance of Nepali, and socioeconomic changes affecting language use and educational practices in Nepal.

The Constitution of Nepal 2015 declares Nepal a multilingual country. Article 6 recognizes all mother tongues spoken in Nepal as national languages, while Article 3 acknowledges the country's multilingual character. Article 7 outlines the official language policy, designating Nepali in Devanagari script as the official language. However, provinces can designate other official languages spoken by the majority within their borders.

The Constitution also emphasizes the right to equality and prohibits discrimination based on language in Article 18. Article 32 guarantees the freedom to use and promote one's native language and culture, and Article 31 ensures every Nepali community the right to education in their mother tongue.

Under Article 287, the Language Commission is established to evaluate mother languages for educational purposes and advise the government on their potential use. Language plays a critical role in personal and societal development, influencing ethnic, caste, and cultural distinctions in Nepal.

UNESCO has long advocated for basic instruction in the home language for educational, psychological, and cultural reasons. Their 1953/1968 report recommended starting education in the mother tongue to bridge the gap between home and school. The 1990 World Conference on Education for All highlighted that literacy in the mother tongue enhances cultural identity and heritage. Despite these recognitions, a significant barrier to using mother languages in elementary education is the lack of instructional resources and textbooks, a pressing issue for Maithili.

Addressing this problem requires deliberate efforts to develop and distribute instructional materials in Maithili. Government programs, non-governmental organizations, and community initiatives should focus on producing textbooks, training Maithili-speaking educators, and promoting the use of Maithili in various educational contexts.

Local governments are struggling to implement sustainable development projects, often due to financial constraints or inconsistent budget allocations. These governments at people’s doorsteps are failing to deal with development challenges, raising public concerns about the future of Nepal's fledgling federal system.

While many local governments have opted for short-term, cosmetic projects to appease constituents, Tilottama Municipality in Rupandehi district has taken a different approach. Known for its innovative practices, Tilottama has initiated a strategic long-term planning process for the fiscal year 2023/2024. Breaking from the conventional notion of allocating the available resources in petty projects, the municipal government has categorized its development works into three themes: municipal prioritized projects, municipal pride projects and municipal golden projects. After assessing projects proposed by ward offices, the municipal government included them in the project bank. Projects costing under Rs 10 million were categorized as prioritized projects, between Rs 10 and Rs 50 million as pride projects and those costing above Rs 50 million as golden projects. This aimed at ensuring effective resource allocation while addressing cross-cutting issues such as balanced, sustainable, green, resilient and inclusive development.

The municipality constructed 17 kilometers of internal roads in its 17 wards using modern asphalt concrete technology, naming this project the "One Ward, One Kilometer Road Construction Project". This falls under the theme of municipal prioritized projects. The municipality had often been criticized for focusing its budget on the vicinity of the six-lane Siddhartha Highway. To address this public concern, it decided to develop inner strategic roads in each ward, bridging the rural and urban sectors to boost the local economy.

Additionally, to address the long-standing issues related to maternity and infant health, the municipality came up with the plan to build "Tilottama Maternity and Infant Hospital" as a municipal pride project. Moreover, to tackle the widening gap between private and public education, Tilottama has proposed constructing a minimum of four government school buildings each year. The plan has been categorized under municipal golden projects. This novel initiative has generated widespread public curiosity and support from various sectors of local life.

In a similar vein, the municipality constructed Tilottama National Flag Park to celebrate the national cricket team's achievement of participating in the 2024 Twenty20 Cricket World Cup. A towering national flag was installed in the park to commemorate this national achievement with the hope of fostering national solidarity. The park also boasts a digital screen where all the matches of the Nepali cricket team were broadcast live. The primary objectives of this project were to instill a sense of nationhood in young people seeking their future within the country and to honor the national players, their parents, friends and neighbors who witnessed the performance of the national cricket team alongside their municipal leaders.

Tilottama acknowledges its plans and policies for the current fiscal year as a significant policy departure in various avenues. The municipality developed a new vision for each letter of its name: T for technological advancement, I for innovative ways of doing, L for local leadership development, O for operational simplicity, T for technical expertise, T for typical product enhancement, A for artificial intelligence, M for mobilization of resources, and A for autonomy of works. These themes represent five sectors of local level development: economic, social, infrastructure, forest, environment and disaster management, and good governance and service delivery. In terms of good governance, Tilottama emphasizes transparency, responsiveness, responsibility, accountability, controllability and simplicity of administration. To register public complaints and address them accordingly, the municipality introduced the "Hello Tilottama" hotline last year, focusing on municipal responsiveness to public needs. Additionally, the "Innovative Tilottama" framework has been designed with a special focus on administrative simplicity. Most ward offices and municipal sections run software-based systems to provide timely services to residents effectively and efficiently. The sub-national government is also introducing "Time Card" services for its citizens.

The municipality has beautified Siddhartha Highway, which bisects its land, in an exceptionally decorative manner. The greenery on both sides of the road and the picturesque bougainvillea flowers in the divider entice any traveler passing through the Butwal–Bhairahawa road. During May and June, the area sees an influx of photo-motivated tourists from both Nepal and neighboring states of India. The municipality has added value to this scenic road by constructing a roof truss on the pedestrian crossing bridge, an initiative introduced for the first time in Nepal, and has installed several traffic and high-mast lights across the road. Moreover, a decorative pedestrian bridge made of glass and aluminum is under construction in Manigram - a major economic hub of the municipality.

The sub-national government is also well-known for its community-based practices such as community sanitation and greenery promotion, community health, community education, community forestry and community irrigation. It organizes community sanitation and greenery promotion programs twice a month to sensitize the local community about garbage management and environmental protection. Last year, a mega program was held on the municipality premises to mark the 100th event of a nationally hailed community sanitation and greenery promotion program, with a dream to establish it as a Tilottama civilization.

Local governments across the country have drafted their plans, policies, and programs for the new fiscal year. The Tilottama style of planned development could be insightful to them if they want to establish themselves as learning organizations. Since creativity and learning are the underlying features of transformational leadership, local leaders who demonstrate these values can benefit from Tilottama’s politically and economically grounded local development model.

Invasive species have defined themselves as a formidable army that poses a major threat to our  planet’s ecosystem. These species are non-native organisms belonging to other ecosystems and they  can be plants, animals or pathogens. Such species emerge from new environments and cause destructive  consequences in the host ecosystems. They are capable of influencing the local species, altering the environment, and  they may pose health risks to humans and result in economic losses to individuals, communities or nations. Therefore, gaining the knowledge of invasive species and their method of proliferation helps to combat them easily without any loss and also contributes to the conservation of ecosystems. 

Effect on local ecosystem 

Invasive species can cause the devastation of local ecosystems in several ways: 

1. Biodiversity loss: Invasive species compete more effectively for resources such as food, light and space with native species. Such competition results in the elimination or complete extinction of native species. For example, the arrival of brown tree snakes in Guan has eventually caused the loss of several bird species. 

2. Habitat loss: Some invasive species alter the abiotic factor of the ecosystem making it unsuitable for other endemic species. One of the best examples of such species is the freshwater invasive species known as Zebra mussel, which changes the physical properties of water. 

3. Predation and disease: Non-indigenous species are capable of eradicating the indigenous species that have not developed any means of defense to defend themselves against them. Furthermore, Invasive species bring new diseases against which native species possess no immunity. A good example is chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium  dendrobatidis) that caused the disease chytridiomycosis, which caused a disastrous impact on amphibian populations. 

4. Economic impact: The economic loss due to invasive species is very high in current and future scenarios. Invasive species are capable of destroying crops, fisheries and forests. Combating them often requires expensive control mechanisms. For instance, the emerald ash borer alone caused the loss of billions of dollars of North American Ash tree.

How they spread 

Invasive species spread through various means, often helped by human activities: 

1. Global trade and travel: Various modes of transportation such as airplanes and ships unknowingly transport invasive species across borders. For example, the ballast water from the ship is one of the causes of introduction of invasive species in the ocean. 

2. Animals and horticulture: The trade of plants for farming or gardening and animals for pets is also behind the spread of invasive species. 

3. Climate change: The change in climatic conditions create a suitable environment for invasive species helping them to expand their territory. 

4. Human activities: Activities such as construction, deforestation and changes in land use  make the condition suitable for the invasive species to grow and thrive. 

Measures to manage or eliminate invasive species 

This involves a range of strategies, which includes early detection, prevention and long-term management. 

1. Prevention: One of the most effective preventive measures is to prevent the introduction of invasive species. The rules and regulations on importing plants and animals should be tightened and the public should be made aware of the dangers associated with the release of non-native species  

2. Early detection and rapid response: The species should be promptly identified, and  their progress should be stopped. Relevant programs should be introduced to monitor and report  on invasive species.  

3. Methods to manage species: a. Physical control: It involves manual removal like pulling out the invasive plant species or trapping the invasive animal, b. Chemical control: It involves the use of pesticides or herbicides, but it may have adverse effects on the environment, and c. Biological control: It involves the introduction of natural predators of the non-native species but it should be proceeded with caution as it may cause harm to native species also. 

4. Restoration: The best way to respond to the impact of the invasive species is by restoring  native habitat and supporting the native species.  

In conclusion, global biodiversity and ecosystem health are increasingly under threat from invasive  species. Given their widespread, and often severe consequences—in both time and space—they will  continue to require deliberate, sustained mitigation. By learning how they spread, and practicing both preventative and reactive measures, we can work to keep the natural balance of our  ecosystems to continue long into the future.

Saqib Shamim

Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus