Founding Leader-Patron

Tek Jung Mahat

Graduate in environment, climate change and sustainability, Mr. Tek Jung Mahat is a youth, media and mountain agenda forerunner with almost 10 years of professional experience ranging from national/Nepal to Asia-Pacific and global, and in diverse sectors – youth activism, academia, NGO sector, international platform management and intergovernmental organisations.  Some of his brainchilds include Climate Himalaya Initiative (first Himalaya regional climate professionals network), Environment Professional’s Group (largest Nepalese environment professional’s network), Realising CHANGE (Green Change Makers dedicated blog), Youth for Sustainable Mountain Development – Y4SMD initiative (first and largest youth programme in mountain development sector with 2000+ membership and over 200 youth directly trained on Rio+20, climate change and sustainability from 17 Asia-Pacific countries), and Media engagement in Sustainable Mountain Development - M4SMD initiative (first media programme in mountain development sector with 50 media persons trained from 10 South and Southeast Asian countries on Green Economy and climate change).

Coming to Mr. Mahat’s Rio+20 engagements:

He coordinated;

1)   organisation of 3 e-conferences on SMD and Rio+20 in Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH, April’11), South and Central Asia (May’11) and Southeast Asia-Pacific (SEAP, June’11);

2)   convening Asia Pacific Youth Meeting on Rio+20 (AP Youth Forum) and Regional Sharing Workshop on Assessment of Challenges and Opportunities in the Asia Pacific region for Rio +20 (both in August 2011);

3)   Preparation of Asia Pacific Position Paper Towards Rio+20, Asia Pacific Youth Declaration on Climate Change and Sustainable Development, and Green Economy and Sustainable Mountain Development: Kathmandu Declaration;

4)   Organisation of Two Media Workshops  - South Asia Media Workshop on Adaptation to Climate Change and Green Economy (May 2011) and Hindu Kush-Himalayan Regional Media Workshop on Green Economy and Climate Change Adaptation (November 2011), and

5)   Development of Regional Assessment Reports on Rio+20 in HKH and SEAP (I am co-author of both the reports).

He facilitated;

6)   Government of Nepal’s preparations for the Rio+20, including development of the Country Status Paper submitted to UNCSD Secretariat as an input to the Zero Draft.

He produced:

7) Asia- Pacific Mountain Courier: Special issue on youth perspectives on Rio+20 (2011), ICIMOD

He wrote;

8)   Global Youth Movement for Rio +20 and the Mountain Agenda - My views in the ICIMOD eNews Oct/Nov 2011, ICIMOD

9)   Mainstreaming youth in environmental processes - My views in the ICIMOD eNews, ICIMOD

10)   Mountains in the ‘Zero Draft of the outcome document of Rio+20’ - Blog Entry, Realising CHANGE

11)        Road to Rio+20: Mobilising Asia Pacific youth for promoting sustainable mountain development, ICIMOD

He envisioned and leads;

12)        Asia Pacific Youth on Rio +20 (Earth Summit 2012) (Facebook, Blog, Twitter) – probably the largest Youth Rio+20 group from Asia pacific region and the largest youth advocating mountain issues.

Besides;

13)        He convened Asia Pacific Youth and Green Economy session at the TUNZA Conference 2011 (September-October), Indonesia.

14)        He moderated Global Youth Panel on Climate Change and Rio+20 at UNFCCC COP17, Cancun, December 2011.

15)        He is leading preparations of the Earth Debates in the Hindu-Kush Himalayas  on 24 at ICIMOD Headquarters, Nepal, and Bangladesh, China and India through video link, and

16)        He will be Chairing/Moderating Youth Perspectives on Promoting Green Economy in South and Central Asia: options and opportunities session at the Planet Under Pressure Conference in London (in March).