Issue of Mount Everest Region: Waste Management and Sustainable Development

This discussion paper focuses on the issue of waste management in the Mount Everest region and proposes a plan for sustainable development. It discusses the impact of waste on the environment, health, and tourism industry. The paper also highlights the role of the government and other stakeholders in resolving the issue.

Submission Date: DISCUSSION PAPER
(Issue of Mount Everest region)
Name of the Student:
Student ID:
Name of the University:
Words:
References:
Name of the Tutor:

ISSUE OF MOUNT EVEREST REGION
Table of Contents
1. Position statement..................................................................................................................2
2. Background context...............................................................................................................2
3. A statement of need................................................................................................................5
4. Scope of the proposed plan....................................................................................................7
5. Proposed process....................................................................................................................9
Reference..................................................................................................................................10
1

ISSUE OF MOUNT EVEREST REGION
1. Position statement
“Yatra" is one of the famous tourism companies of India. The main objective of the company
is to deliver better goods as well as services to the customers. Other goals of the company are
to create opportunities for employment along with bringing socio-economic benefit to
communities, especially in the remote and interior areas and in this way to develop those
areas. Apart from that, another objective of the organisation is related to the preservation and
protection of natural resources for achieving sustainable development.
In the recent years, the number of climbers in the Everest region has increased rapidly. As a
result, waste in the different places in the mountain, especially around the base camp has
risen to a large volume. However, to provide better service rubbish management needs to be
handled carefully. Therefore, the new objective of the company is to make amendments in the
policies that could help in the mitigation of the problems effectively.
2

ISSUE OF MOUNT EVEREST REGION
2. Background context
As opined by Conger (2019), the climber of Mount Everest increased to 7 % in the last few
years compared to the previous years. Besides, from a recent report, it has been known that
near about 2500 people have climbed the mountain since 2010. In the next year, it was seen
that a large number of people waited for climbing and this created a hazardous situation for
all the parties who were involved. As a result, different kinds of problems are arising which
directly effects the environment of the particular region. One of the most significant issues is
the issue of rubbish management. The mountain area has become a dumping ground. As
stated by Ketchell (2019), nearly 55 tonnes of rubbish have been accumulated beyond the
base camp of the Everest. The litter consists of food cans, ropes, torn tents, oxygen cylinders,
human waste as well as dead bodies.
The amount of rubbish is not decreasing even after implementing the periodical cleaning
process. This is because the number of climbers has been increasing by leaps and bounds.
The base camp of Everest looks like a tent city. It can be observed that the majority of the
climbers of nowadays are not as capable as the mountaineer of some decade ago. This is
another reason for which the waste is increasing in the mountain region. According to the
Alton Byers who is one of the famous mountain geologists, the mountain keeps itself
apparent by the publicised clean up expedition every year. However, much of the land
surrounded by the hill is suffered due to the reason that the excessive volume of waste that is
generated by climbers.
Though a lot of waste were buried and burned and at the same time a large volume of waste
is landfilled, yet there is no sign of reduction of the trash in the mountain region. This
burning process also impacts on the environment in a negative way (Iran, 2019). Open
burning creates smoke that is made up of fine particles. Breathing these fine particles can
raise the respiratory problem and can create severe problems like asthma as well as chronic
bronchitis. It is a critical concern for the climbers as the air is polluting in an excessive
amount. Burning of wastes affects not only the air but also the groundwater (Rai, 2017).
From a recent report, it can be known that a lot of tourists became sick due to human waste
which was being dumped into the rivers of the local areas. Near about 12500 lbs of the
human waste are generated in each season around the base camp of the Everest, and this is
dumped into the water sources. As a result, most of the visitors are getting sick; it has also
3

ISSUE OF MOUNT EVEREST REGION
been observed that some of the visitors became severely ill. The Sagarmatha Pollution
Control Committee has stated that the control over the garbage management has been
reduced to a large extent. The lodges do not have any control over the management of waste.
The Sagarmatha pollution control committee is aware of the environmental health as well as
aesthetic problems that landfills are generating, but it cannot do anything as the lodge owner
association is much influential (Watson and King, 2018).
Nepal is one of the poorest countries among all the impoverished country in the world, and
that is why tourism is one of the essential lifelines for the economy. As waste is increasing
around the mountain areas, it negatively affects the tourism companies. The government has
strictly stated that the companies cannot continue their business if the companies do not take
any initiative for managing the waste (Li et al., 2016). The mountaineer benefits the local
economy in a great way, and this is also a significant part in pointing the ecological balance
of the Mount Everest region. At the time of the high season, the waste of human that is food
rappers, battery and rotten tents and some other trash which become hazardous for the
climber of the mountain. (Douglas 2013) Therefore, it can be stated that the environment
around the mountain, the health of the climber, the air and the underground water as well as
the business of the travel and tourism company all are affected by the increase of the waste.
From a recent report, it can be known that Yatra has not done its business correctly as the
company could not take many customers due to the strict rules and regulation set by the
Government of Nepal. The Nepal Government has set the standard to keep the health of the
mountaineer safe. This account for the slow growth of the local economy of Nepal
(Jovanovic, 2019). At the same time, the air and water have been affected much. The
pollution level has been skyrocketed in the last few years due to the excessive burring of
waste. The normal flow of the river has also been affected due to the dumb of the trash in the
water (Angel, 2018).
4

ISSUE OF MOUNT EVEREST REGION
3. A statement of need
Background statement
In the tourism business of Mt. Everest region, several obstacles prevail that directly hampers
the financial status. The issues are related to an environment that decreases the employment
status of the area. Apart from that, the regional tourism business is hampered, thereby
reducing the targeted goals of several organisations (Badola et al., 2018).
Government role
To develop the tourism in the Mt. Everest region the government primarily should use trained
expertise and trained workforce to change the surrounding relating to the ecosystem. Also,
several national missions are proposed by the government to sustain the balance of the
ecosystem and to develop regional tourism. In respect of travel and tourism more about 100
experts and professional may be recruited with a team of trained glaciologists to conduct the
survey. Such survey helps the government to find out the possible threats related to the
ecosystem of the region.
Moreover, the national mission can build the institutional system, thereby observing the
region to develop the tourism business. However, multiple numbers of the community-based
institution and knowledge organisations are engaged in the activities of maintaining the
ecosystem. In this aspect, the national mission going to achieve a better connection with the
knowledge institutions and to develop several new organisations (Desai, 2018).
The primary objective of the government role is to resolve the barrier associated with the
travelling of the mountain region. The glaciology department is going to undertake targeted
research for the development of the Everest region. Such action may change the eco-tourism,
knowledge systems and biodiversity in the area. Also, the national mission intends to develop
the platform for periodical dialogue with several stakeholders. In this aspect, the discussion
may focus on the elaboration of the practical and comprehensive strategy to mitigate the
long-term complexities related in sustaining the ecosystem. The procedures are associated
with the river basins and water resources management to change the surrounding of the
region. Based on the government mentioned above undertakings, the tourism business may be
developed by attracting multiple travellers from other countries (Modak, 2019).
5

ISSUE OF MOUNT EVEREST REGION
Business and other stakeholders
The economy of the Mt. Everest region is developed based on tourism business. Most of the
residents of the area are involved in the industry to maintain their daily needs. In respect of
the tourism business, several hotel, lodges and trekking hubs are established that enhances the
employment opportunities. On the other hand, the related complexities create several
obstacles in the way of development of the tourism business. For climbing and expeditions,
several regional peoples are involved, thereby helping with the related activities. In this
aspect, several trekking organisations arrange mountain journeys by using several travel
guides. To conduct the trekking operations, the organisations use skilled people who able to
work at a high altitude. Besides, the trekking organisations arrange additional measures,
thereby involving other staffs related to the entertainment purpose. In the case of
employment, the tourism business several companies use to shift the occupations towards the
advance level, thus developing several campgrounds, hotels and animal services (Swenson,
2019).
In the region, several peoples of Sherpa community developed the income-related activities
based on tourism. For having better mountaineering experience, most of the trekking
organisation intend to use them based on traveller safety. In recent time, the tourism business
is hampered due to the absence of safety measure in the region. Several accidents and
unnecessary hazards happen in the area of Mt. Everest, and the government strictly issues the
laws that prohibit the business process of the trekking organisations. Due to the cause, several
regional peoples have faced the problems related with the survival. In recent time, the region
is almost turning towards like a place that is filled with wastage. Such an issue directly
affects the environment, thereby affecting the economic status of the site. In this aspect, the
entrepreneurship business related with tourism is affected thus decreasing the importance of
the place (Bhai, 2019).
Reasons for government intervention
In the mountain region of Mt. Everest, the government takes several actions, thereby
releasing several rules and regulations. In this aspect, the government intervene towards the
matter of the mountain region that is associated with the travel and tourism business. In
respect to waste management, the government intend to perform several duties to retain the
ecological balance and to develop the tourism business. In recent time, the region of Mt.
Everest transforms towards as the dumping ground. To remove those waste articles, the
6

ISSUE OF MOUNT EVEREST REGION
government recruit a waste management team for removing the massive capacity of materials
(Wani and Wani, 2019). The region is accumulated with food cans, oxygen cylinders, torn
ropes, ropes and other human waste. Most of the time, several dead bodies are discovered in
the region that decreases the natural beauty and ecological balance. In this aspect, the
government uses several advance materials such as helicopters, trucks and other materials to
remove such waste materials from the place. Recently, the Everest base camp is transformed
towards a tent city that indirectly decreases the natural beauty of the site. The majority of
mountain climbers from other countries come to the Mt. Everest and most of them settle by
arranging the tent. Due to the cause of several, human wastages are accumulated in the place.
To develop the natural beauty of the area the government may pass several strict laws relating
to the safety securities so that the tourism business can be established. However, the measure
of safety security prohibits accidents during the time of mountaineering in the region. The
periodic clean-up process arranges by the government to remove the waste materials in a
short period. In the cyclic clean-up process, both government team and tourists can conduct
the duty, thereby maintaining the ecological balance of the place (Mu and Nepal, 2015).
4. Scope of the proposed plan
The Mt. Everest region is one of the famous places to develop the business of tourism and
trekking. In recent times, the world-famous area lost its importance due to the overwhelming
accumulation of wastages. In this aspect, the government and other non-government authority
propose several plans to mitigate the complexities related with the environment. The
government of Nepal discovers such issues during the clean-up expedition. An industry
report says that most of the wastages are associated with the personal items and those should
be cleaned up to retain the ecological balance of the place. The following policies describe
the way of development of the surrounding that potentially helps the tourism industry (Nepal,
Indra al Irsyad and Nepal, 2019).
Forest-based economy
The development of the forest-based economy potentially helps to balance the ecology of the
region thereby developing the economic status. Due to the deforestation in the areas creates
the vulnerability towards landslides and creates deprivation with several regional people. The
ecological disbalance also hampers in the process of financial survival of several
communities in the place (Nepal, 2014). The introduction of the forest-based economy can
7

ISSUE OF MOUNT EVEREST REGION
take serious action against the pollution in the region to enhance the trekking and tourism
business in Mt. Everest.
Moreover, the government has to develop the different development method and strategy
based on the use of essential resources for the security of local livelihood. The standing
forests are recognised as the crucial reservoir of biodiversity that protects against the flooding
and erosion. The flooding and soil erosion creates several challenges in the way of
development of tourism. In this aspect, the government has to perform the additional duty by
organising the plantation program to enhance the importance of the region (Panwar, Uniyal
and Rautela, 2016).
Water development strategy
The water development strategy has the potentiality to enhance the beauty of the place,
thereby increasing the tourism business of the site. In this aspect, the river projects have to
develop by the government to retain the water supply towards the trekking camp. The river
projects can be developed in the place, thereby improving the reservoir. The hydroelectricity
project can be produced by exploiting the tank (Sherpa et al., 2019).
Promotion of organic agriculture
In the Everest region, organic agriculture intends to enhance the regional beauty of the place
by developing the tourism business. The introduction of organic agriculture aims to mitigate
several barriers by attracting domestic and global tourists in the area. Such a process can
cover the multiple hectares of land to cover with green vegetation. In this way, the regional
tourism business can be maintained, thereby enhancing the economic status of the people.
The government of Nepal can undertake several projects, thus developing the agriculture
programme (Swenson, 2019).
8

ISSUE OF MOUNT EVEREST REGION
5. Proposed process
As tourism is an integral part of the economy of Nepal, the problem of the excessive waste in
the Everest, especially around the base camp, needs to be solved within a short period. The
company Yatra have changed some of its policies for overcoming the problems. Among all
the waste, the food item is found maximum around the base camp. Therefore, the company
has taken the initiative so that it will be possible for the company to reduce food waste within
a short period (Figueroa, 2019). The company has decided that it will provide a basket for
keeping the waste of food material and after collecting all the foods it will try to make reuse
of the products. The company has already taken the initiative to a small scale, and it was able
to manage the waste. However, the main concern is whether it can be applied when this will
be used for a large number of customers. At the same time, the company is not allowing the
customers to carry any plastic bottles. Therefore, the company is providing an eco-friendly
container. Recently a company in Nepal has introduced reusable bottle glass; the company is
now offering this bottle to its customers (Yale, 2019).
9

ISSUE OF MOUNT EVEREST REGION
References
Angel, M. (2018). Tourism to the Himalayas causes a mountain of problems. [online]
Businessdestinations.com. Available
at: https://www.businessdestinations.com/destinations/tourism-to-the-himalayas-causes-a-
mountain-of-problems/ [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Badola, R., Hussain, S., Dobriyal, P., Manral, U., Barthwal, S., Rastogi, A. and Gill, A.
(2018). Institutional arrangements for managing tourism in the Indian Himalayan protected
areas. Tourism Management, [online] 66, pp.1-12. Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S026151771730239X [Accessed 19
Sep. 2019].
Bhai, S. (2019). The Himalayas Urgently Need An Alternate Development Plan. [online]
Greenpeace Extra. Available at: https://www.greenpeacex.in/petitions/urgent-need-to-protect-
the-himalayan-region-and-it-s-communities [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Conger, C. (2019). How has Mount Everest tourism affected Nepal?. [online]
HowStuffWorks. Available
at: https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/climbing/mt-everest-tourism.htm
[Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Desai, S. (2018). How do you solve a problem like Everest?. [online]
https://www.livemint.com. Available at:
https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/Onl0j5Qdjx7IZDswOjlqjL/How-do-you-solve-a-problem-
like-Everest.html [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Douglas, E. (2013). Everest: tourism and climate change provide new challenges. [online] the
Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/24/everest-tourism-
climate-change-challenge [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Figueroa, P. (2019). Vanity, Pollution and Death on Mt. Everest - Our World. [online]
Ourworld.unu.edu. Available at: https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/vanity-pollution-and-death-on-
mt-everest [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
10

ISSUE OF MOUNT EVEREST REGION
Iran, S. (2019). Healing the human impact on Everest – UIAA. [online] Theuiaa.org.
Available at: https://www.theuiaa.org/uiaa/healing-the-human-impact-on-everest/ [Accessed
19 Sep. 2019].
Jovanovic, D. (2019). World's highest mountain is covered in 30 tons of trash. [online] ABC
News. Available at: https://abcnews.go.com/International/mount-everest-tackles-60000-
pound-trash-problem-campaign/story?id=62773297 [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Ketchell, M. (2019). Everest tourism is causing a mountain of problems. [online] The
Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/everest-tourism-is-causing-a-
mountain-of-problems-23953 [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Li, C., Bosch, C., Kang, S., Andersson, A., Chen, P., Zhang, Q., Cong, Z., Chen, B., Qin, D.
and Gustafsson, Ö. (2016). Sources of black carbon to the Himalayan–Tibetan Plateau
glaciers. Nature Communications, [online] 7(1). Available at:
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms12574 [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Modak, S. (2019). Mt Everest: Overcrowding at the top of the world must be regulated.
[online] Downtoearth.org.in. Available at:
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/governance/mt-everest-overcrowding-at-the-top-of-the-
world-must-be-regulated-66061 [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Mu, Y. and Nepal, S. (2015). High Mountain Adventure Tourism: Trekkers’ Perceptions of
Risk and Death in Mt. Everest Region, Nepal. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research,
[online] 21(5), pp.500-511. Available at:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10941665.2015.1062787 [Accessed 19 Sep.
2019].
Nepal, R., Indra al Irsyad, M. and Nepal, S. (2019). Tourist arrivals, energy consumption and
pollutant emissions in a developing economy–implications for sustainable tourism. Tourism
Management, [online] 72, pp.145-154. Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261517718302048 [Accessed 19
Sep. 2019].
11

ISSUE OF MOUNT EVEREST REGION
Nepal, S. (2014). Everest tourism is causing a mountain of problems. [online] The
Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/everest-tourism-is-causing-a-
mountain-of-problems-23953 [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Panwar, N., Uniyal, D. and Rautela, K. (2016). Mapping Sustainable Tourism into
Emergency Management Structure to Enhance Humanitarian Networks and Disaster Risk
Reduction using Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Initiatives in Himalayan States. Designing
and Implementing Global Supply Chain Management, [online] pp.129-151. Available at:
https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/chapter/141669 [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Rai, D. (2017). Tourism development and economic and socio-cultural consequences in
Everest Region. Geographical Journal of Nepal, [online] 10, pp.89-104. Available at:
https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/gjn/article/view/17392 [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Sherpa, S., Shrestha, M., Eakin, H. and Boone, C. (2019). Cryospheric hazards and risk
perceptions in the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal. Natural
Hazards, [online] 96(2), pp.607-626. Available at:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-018-3560-0 [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Swenson, K. (2019). Mount Everest is full of garbage. A clean-up crew just hauled off 24,000
pounds of waste. [online] https://www.washingtonpost.com. Available at:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/06/06/mount-everest-garbage-pounds-waste-
human-bodies/ [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Wani, M. and Wani, S. (2019). Sustainability of Himalayan Environment: Issues and
Policies. Sustainability in Plant and Crop Protection, [online] pp.31-45. Available at:
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-99768-1_3 [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Watson, C. and King, O. (2018). Everest's thinning glaciers: implications for tourism and
mountaineering. Geology Today, [online] 34(1), pp.18-25. Available at:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gto.12215 [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
Yale. (2019). Volunteers Remove 3 Tons of Trash From Mount Everest in Two Weeks.
[online] Available at: https://e360.yale.edu/digest/volunteers-remove-3-tons-of-trash-from-
mount-everest-in-two-weeks [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
12