My name is Sagar Koirala. I am a 23-year-old activist from Nepal, passionate about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate change, sustainable food systems and youth. I come from the Eastern town of Itahari, where I have spent most of my life. I have been involved actively in climate advocacy for the last five years and have conducted various training, campaigns, and events to promote SDG 2: Zero Hunger, SDG 13: Climate Action and SDG 17: Partnership for Goals. This is my story.

Nepal is an agriculture-dependent country. Still, a large number of farmers live below the poverty line. On top of that, due to high incidence of diseases and pests, the increasing use of chemical fertilizers, and unsustainable food practices, the health of people, of crop ecosystems and of the soil is worsening day by day.

That is what inspired me to try to change the food system.

As an agriculture student and an advocate of sustainable food, I believe that we need to promote the consumption of healthy, plant-based, sustainable, naturally grown food as a lifestyle. To prevent food loss and waste, I believe greater efforts and campaigns are needed to ensure real impact on a global scale. To contribute to this, I am working to improve resilience and adaptive capacity, mostly in rural mountain areas of the country, and promoting climate-smart agriculture.

I want to pursue a career in the climate sector and fight for climate justice. I want to mobilize youth from around the globe to raise awareness about pollution, environmental destruction’ the over-exploitation of natural resources and the killing of wildlife. In the future, I would like to see myself in a position where I can contribute to climate and environment policies that bring about positive change. Climate smart agriculture and sustainable farming must be promoted on a wider scale. To get there, we need to stimulate the use of climate-smart technologies in Nepal. It is all part of my dream of a more sustainable, healthy, clean, and green planet for everyone.

My climate journey began when I was in school. As a member of the child club, I participated in campaigns for a clean environment and took part in tree planting activities. I became involved with online and offline climate strikes in different places across Nepal, such as Kathmandu, Pokhara and Itahari.

I became even more involved with climate activism when I started a bachelor's programme in Agriculture Science from the College of Natural Resources Management, Agriculture and Forestry University in Pokhara. The College is located in the countryside in the outskirts Pokhara, one of the most beautiful cities in the world.