Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha returned home on Saturday after attending an international conference in Bangkok, Thailand, where he highlighted the climate-related disasters facing Nepal, the resilience of the Himalayan region and the importance of disaster early warning systems. Shrestha had travelled to the Thai capital on Tuesday to take part in the fifth Ministerial Conference on the Use of Space Technology for Sustainable Development, an event organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP).

Shrestha's message in Bangkok

During the conference, Minister Shrestha drew the attention of delegates to the range of climate-related disasters that Nepal continues to confront, according to reports published by Ratopati and Gorkhapatra Online. His participation gave Nepal a platform to speak directly to regional counterparts and United Nations bodies about the pressures bearing down on mountain countries.

Three themes took centre stage

Reporting on his intervention points to three interconnected themes that Shrestha emphasised during the sessions:

  • Climate-related disasters: The minister highlighted the disasters linked to climate change that Nepal faces, a concern that has grown steadily as extreme weather events repeatedly affect communities across the country, from the Tarai plains to the high mountains.

  • Resilience of the Himalayan region: Shrestha also placed the Himalayan region at the heart of his remarks, underscoring the distinct circumstances of mountain territories, where steep and fragile terrain meets changing climatic conditions.

  • Disaster early warning systems: The minister stressed the value of early warning systems in preparing for disasters, a subject that sits at the centre of current international debates on how technology can help reduce loss of life and property.

Taken together, the three themes placed Nepal's circumstances squarely within the wider conversation on sustainable development, linking the country's exposure to hazards with the tools that modern space science can offer.

The conference and its organiser

The fifth Ministerial Conference on the Use of Space Technology for Sustainable Development was convened by UN-ESCAP, one of the United Nations' principal regional commissions. Headquartered in Bangkok, UN-ESCAP works to promote cooperation on economic and social development across Asia and the Pacific, and its convening role makes the Thai capital a regular venue for multilateral meetings of this kind.

Ministerial conferences on space technology provide governments with a forum to examine how space science and its applications can serve sustainable development. Satellite-based observation and communication, in particular, have become central to discussions on disaster risk reduction, climate monitoring and preparedness, areas where timely and accurate information can make a decisive difference for vulnerable populations.

For a country such as Nepal, the relevance of these discussions is direct. Satellite imagery and remote sensing can help authorities monitor river basins, track glacial lakes, map landslide-prone slopes and strengthen weather-related forecasting. Each of these applications feeds into the kind of early warning systems that Shrestha highlighted during the conference, and each depends on the regional and international cooperation that UN-ESCAP platforms are designed to encourage.

Space applications for a Himalayan nation

Nepal's geography gives the debate particular urgency. Settlements, farmland, hydropower projects and infrastructure are scattered across difficult mountain and hill terrain, where a single flood or landslide can sever roads, bridges and power lines for days. Space-based tools offer a way to observe such events quickly and over wide areas, including in places that are hard to reach on the ground.

The ministry that Shrestha leads also has a direct stake in these technologies. The Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation portfolio covers sectors that are highly sensitive to hydrological conditions such as rainfall, river flows and snow and glacial melt. Better observation and prediction of these conditions matter not only for disaster response, but also for planning and operating hydropower plants, irrigation systems and other water infrastructure that underpin the country's development ambitions.

Shrestha's return on Saturday brought the Bangkok engagement to a close, with the minister having spent the intervening days in the Thai capital since his departure on Tuesday. His attendance reflects Nepal's continuing participation in regional and international mechanisms dealing with climate change and disaster management, issues on which mountain countries have repeatedly sought stronger global attention.

As climate impacts intensify across the Himalayas, forums such as the UN-ESCAP ministerial conference offer Nepal a channel through which to exchange experiences, learn from comparable countries and explore partnerships on space-based applications. The minister's remarks on early warning systems and Himalayan resilience in Bangkok have added Nepal's voice to that ongoing regional conversation.