Kathmandu [Nepal], September 1 – Nepal has formally sought emergency financing from the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) to address the massive destruction caused by the Bhotekoshi floods on August 26 saying the scale of the disaster has exceeded the country’s domestic resources and immediate response capacity.
The government sent a letter to the co-chairs of the FRLD Board on Monday jointly signed by Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle and Minister for Agriculture, Forests and Environment Gita Chaudhary, according to Dr. Maheshwar Dhakal, chief of the Climate Change Management Division at the ministry.
The letter highlighted widespread loss of life, displacement, destruction of homes and critical infrastructure and severe disruptions to essential services, livelihoods, markets and connectivity in downstream communities.
It described Nepal as a least developed and highly climate-vulnerable mountainous country that contributes negligibly to global greenhouse gas emissions while facing disproportionate climate impacts.
The government said the disaster demonstrated how extreme events in the cryosphere can rapidly cascade from high mountain areas to densely populated downstream communities, affecting water, food, energy, health, infrastructure and ecosystems.
Nepal has urged the FRLD Board to take a special decision to provide a rapid, direct and effective response. It has offered to provide preliminary assessments, official data, satellite information and sector-wise damage estimates.
Dhakal said Nepal urgently needs international financial support to address losses and damages linked to global warming and glacier melt, despite its minimal contribution to global emissions.
