Kathmandu, Dec. 10 -- International Mountain Day on 11 December should inspire celebration, not cynicism. It follows a small but rare diplomatic win: the agreement at COP30 in Belem to hold a dedicated global dialogue on mountains in 2026, and to include mountain-specific indicators in the new climate adaptation framework.

A welcome shift, certainly. But the old narrative lingers - mountains are fragile, disaster-prone, eternally vulnerable. But the uncomfortable truth is that safe and environment-friendly development in the mountains is simply too expensive than anyone wants to admit.

To build a kilometre of two-lane highway in the Tarai costs Rs200 million. That same kilometre on a Himalayan slope with retaining walls, drainage, bioe...