South Asia Peace Action Network (Sapan) is organising a brainstorming discussion online around the climate crisis in South Asia and how the region can come together to solve these pressing issues.
The event coincides with the United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP26 scheduled to be held in Glasgow between 31 October and 12 November. Sapan will compile recommendations and present a resolution to decision-makers at the conference.
Sapan series: Imagine! Neighbours in Peace – VII
Event title: Can South Asia combat the climate crisis?
Date: Sunday October 31, 2021
Time: 10.30 am ET / 7.30 pm PKT / 8.00 pm IST / 8.30 pm BST
The two-hour event is free and open to the public. It will be broadcast via Facebook Live.
To attend the Zoom meeting and participate, register here.
There will be a plenary session with prominent speakers from around the region followed by breakout rooms with expert moderators and rapporteurs to discuss various topics. Top environmentalists, researchers, and activists including youth from around the region are expected to attend.
Featured speakers include:
- Saleemul Huq, Bangladeshi scientist and environmentalist, former director of the International Centre for Climate Change & Development, Bangladesh
- Vandana Shiva, Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist and author
- Kunda Dixit, publisher of Nepali Times, author and journalism professor specializing on the interface between media and the climate
- Sunita Narain, Indian environmentalist and political activist, editor of Down to Earth
- Nalaka Gunawardene, Sri Lankan science journalist, broadcaster and analyst
- Disha Ravi, Indian youth climate-change activist and co-founder, Fridays For Future India
- Prem Shankar Jha, Indian economist, newspaper editor and columnist
- Pratima Gurung, Nepali activist, general secretary for Indigenous Persons with Disabilities Global Network and Nepal Indigenous Disabled Association
- Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, Pakistani expert on climate change and water, senior advisor to the World Bank on Climate Adaptation and Resilience for South Asia
- Kinga Tshering, former Member of Parliament of the Kingdom of Bhutan, and founder of the Institute of Happiness, Bhutan
Breakout rooms will take up the following interconnected issues:
| Thematic discussions: | Moderator: | Rapporteur: |
| Climate justice | Rizwana Hasan, Bangladeshi attorney and environmentalist; winner of the Magsaysay Award 2012 and the Goldman Environmental Prize 2009 | Pragya Narang |
| Cross-border reporting | Dilrukshi Handunnetti, senior Sri Lankan investigative journalist | Lubna Jerar Naqvi |
| Water issues | Kanak Mani Dixit, Nepali publisher, editor and writer; founder of Himal Southasian magazine and cofounder of Himalmedia | Priyanka Singh |
| Renewable energy | Shilsila Acharya, CEO, Himalayan Climate Initiative, Nepal | Sarita Bartaula |
| Indigenous communities | Dayamani Barla, noted Indian journalist and activist for tribal rights | Rani Yan Yan |
Participants may choose one breakout room at the time of registration.
Facilitators for the event include Bangladeshi peace activist and environmentalist Khushi Kabir and senior Pakistani journalist Afia Salam.
The final resolution will be read out by climate activist and social innovation evangelist Durlabh Ashok and youth activist Disha Ravi.
Besides invited speakers, those wishing to share their thoughts and/or volunteer at the event are invited to email southasiapeaceactionnetwork@gmail.com. Please share a brief introduction about yourself. If you’d like to add something to the discussion, please say what you would like to talk about, for not more than a minute.
We are also inviting articles and essays as part of a handbook being collated along with recommendations from the event to present as policy advice at COP26. Deadline: Oct. 25. Click here for submission guidelines.
ABOUT SAPAN: Initiated in March 2021, Sapan is a coalition of organizations and individuals advocating for peace, justice, democracy, and human rights in South Asia and diaspora, working towards a visa-free South Asia and greater regional cooperation.
For more information, please contact us at southasiapeaceactionnetwork@gmail.com
Social media links @SouthAsiaPeace – Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn.
POST-EVENT UPDATE
Resolution: South Asia Peace Action Network – Sapan: Resolution on Climate Change Ahead of COP26
Southasia Peace Action Network 
It’s a good effort to raise this issue to world .
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful initiative. Thank you!
LikeLike