Nepal

Sonia Awale is the Executive Editor at the Nepali Times newspaper in Kathmandu, Nepal where she has also served as the health, science, and environment correspondent since 2015. She has extensively covered the impact of the climate crisis on the Himalayas, air pollution, biodiversity, and public health, looking at their political and economic connections. She recently reported on Kathmandu's worsening air pollution and how deteriorating air quality affects public health and exacerbates the impact of the climate change because of black carbon leading to further loss of permanent Himalayan ice.

Sonia has traveled across Nepal to report on how local communities, such as farmers in Nepal's western plains who are planting sugarcane to act as flood barriers and generate income, are adapting to the climate crisis. She has reported on women building ponds for groundwater recharge to revive springs that have gone dry due to climate change. From the Everest region she covered local communities protecting the environment below the world's highest peak. Sonia is a graduate of public health, has a master's degree in journalism from the University of Hong Kong, and is an alumna of the International Visitor Leadership Program.

Chandan Raman has five years of experience as a doctor and is also an alumnus of the International Visitor Leadership Program. He is currently president of the United National Medical Society of Nepal. He was chairperson of the External Affairs committee in 2011 at Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences (KUSMS), Dhulikhel where he mobilized more than 700 medical students. He was president of KUSMS Students Council from 2012 to 2014. He was elected as a Secretary of NGO/ INGO federation in 2019 under the Ministry of Youth and Sports at National Youth Council (NYC).

Chandan was appointed as a coordinator of the policy making team for health issues at the National Youth Council and has worked on various issues including biohazards, waste management, and community sanitation to reduce impact on climate and environment. He wrote a book in simple Nepali language, Introduction to COVID-19, about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that focused on the facts, myths, and vaccination. The Mississippi Consortium of International Development – Washington (MCID) recognized his work on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He has received a certificate of appreciation from the United Nations Development Program for spreading awareness about the COVID-19 pandemic. Chandan obtained his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree from Kathmandu University School of Medical Science, Nepal.