Final Proposal

The people of Nepal who are some of the least responsible for global warming are going to be directly effected by the consequences. Many of the glaciers in Nepal are expected to be gone within the next sixty years. Currently the glaciers are retreating at three to six feet every year. The glaciers provide water for irrigation and agriculture. With increased amounts of snow melt, the top soil is becoming eroded, making for less fertile land and flooding. In the mountains, as the glaciers melt, glacial lakes increase in volume and can exceed the capacity of their natural dams resulting in glacial lake outburst floods. These floods can wipe out entire mountain villages.

If the Nepalese want to survive climate change, they need to take immediate action throughout the entire country; unfortunately, the government has undergone some very recent major violent change, leaving it less stable than desirable. This is a country that was ruled by a monarchy for most of its history. Now, it operates as a multi-party republic, and the government hosted its first elections in 2008. Although this may appear to be progressive, the process was a violent and chaotic. The change began by the murder of The King and most of the royal family by one of the princes who then killed himself. Following the deaths the country split into many view points but the most powerful were the Maoists (who acquired their power mainly through indoctrination and violence) and the traditionalists who believed in the monarchy.

If the world doesn't want Nepal to be destroyed, it must first understand what the climate will do to the region. We must then understand what action needs to be taken in the country, as well as globally. Finally, we must understand what action can realistically be taken based on the stability and power of the Nepalese Government.

References:
New Nepal: The Fault Lines by Nishchal Nath Pandey
Darkening Peaks: Glacier Retreat, Science, and Society
Journeyman Pictures videos from You Tube
Plan to do more research using databases such as EBSCO