Himalayan Climate Boot Camp 2024 hosts climate change interaction at Everest Base Camp

The Himalayan Climate Boot Camp (HCBC), held from May 2-13, 2024, at Everest Base Camp, organized a session focusing on the impacts of climate change in the region.

Journalists from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal, along with mentors and government officials, shared their insights and observations on climate issues affecting the Everest and broader Himalayan region.

This event marked the first-ever expedition of a group of journalists to the Everest Base Camp.

A total of 13 participants-including 8 journalist fellows, 2 mentors, and 3 project team members-discussed various aspects of climate change and its effects on the lives and livelihoods of people in the Everest region. Chhatra Karki, the project director, emphasized the unique opportunity for journalists to meet climbers, guides, and local Sherpa people, allowing them to report directly from the ground.

“This is a lifetime opportunity for journalists to observe the Everest Base Camp firsthand, witnessing the rapid melting of glaciers and other climate change impacts,” he stated.

Nidhi Jamwal, a journalist fellow from India, remarked, “The boot camp has been an exciting journey to delve deeper into the underreported dimensions of climate change and the environment.” The project team believes that the climate stories emerging from HCBC will enhance science journalism in the region and offer new perspectives on the issues experienced firsthand by the journalists.

Rajan Pokhrel, President of the Nepal Forum of Science Journalists (NFSJ), praised the initiative, stating, “It is a unique effort to bridge climate science and science journalism in the region, enabling reporting from the base camp. This will elevate science journalism in the area and create a network of South Asian science journalists.”

Kamala Pakhrin, a journalist fellow from Nepal, shared, “It has been an incredible journey being part of the boot camp. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to gain firsthand experience of what is happening at

Everest Base Camp.” Chencho Dema, a journalist fellow from Bhutan, added, “As a journalist, I had the chance to travel through the Everest region, capturing images of mountains, forests, and people that highlight the growing climate impact in the area.”

Khim Lal Gautam, chief of the Expedition Monitoring and Facilitation Field Office at Everest Base Camp, provided information on the number of climbers this year and the changes occurring at the base camp. He emphasized the urgent need to relocate the current base camp to a new nearby location due to the combined effects of global warming and human activity. “If the base camp is not moved, it may disappear within a decade or more,” he warned.

The boot camp allowed journalist fellows to interact with local policymakers, conservation officers, environmental managers, security personnel, Sherpa porters, women agricultural workers and entrepreneurs, school teachers, students, and trekking guides in areas such as Lukla, Phakding, Khumbu, Namche, Dingboche, Pyramid-Lobuche, Gorakshep, and Everest Base Camp. These interactions provided a comprehensive understanding of the socio-cultural, and economic dimensions of climate change.

Under the mentorship of their guides, the journalist fellows will now work on story ideas discussed during the boot camp. The NFSJ organized HCBC-2024 with support from the Spark Grant Initiative and logistical partners Seven Summit Treks. Knowledge partners included International Sherpa Guides, Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, Um Hong Gil Human Foundation, and SAS-Trust.