Last month, in an effort to address the mounting pollution crisis and regulate the climbing industry at Everest and other peaks in the vicinity, Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, the local governmental unit in the Everest region, had announced a set of sweeping legal measures.
Mingma Chhiri Sherpa, chairperson of the Rural Municipality, said that the municipality came up with a guideline, including a series of stringent provisions aimed at controlling the light, sound, and garbage pollution in the base camp and pooping on the slope of Everest and other peaks in the vicinity.
“Mount Everest has earned notoriety as the world’s highest garbage dump. It stinks everywhere. There are significant environmental challenges, including waste accumulation and open defecation, contributing to an unpleasant odor and increased ice melting. These challenges are exacerbated by the increase in mountaineering activities. Our guidelines aim to tackle these pressing issues,” Sherpa said.
About 2,000 people stay at least months in the base camp for the expedition in Spring. Two third of them, climbers, their guides and logistic supports go above the base camp for the summit. They spend around 8 to 10 days on the slope of the mountain.
The number of climbers has gone up in recent years, while expedition operators have massively scaled up facilities offered to clients amid competition. This has significantly increased energy consumption and the stay of people in the base camp, severely impacting the ecology of the third pole.
In 2022, a team of officials suggested relocating the Everest base camp as increased human activities posed a threat to the icefall and snow layers around it. Everest’s highest glacier has lost 2,000 years of ice within the last 30 years, according to a finding from the 2019 National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition.
Chairperson Sherpa said the guidelines were prepared after discussion with other stakeholders, including ministries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and expedition agencies. “We will work hand in hand with other stakeholders to enforce the rules. We will have our representative at the base camp from this year,” he said.
As per the guidelines, the expedition agencies will be prohibited from operating commercial establishments such as bars, bakeries, cafes, and spas, which has significantly contributed to the deterioration of the mountain’s environment.
The use of artificial light was sought to be regulated, with only essential tent lighting, like floodlights and illuminated marker lamps visible from a distance, permitted. Lights must be switched off at night except in emergencies, preserving the natural darkness of the mountain landscape.
The Base Camp Management Procedure 2024, prepared by the Municipality, required climbers to pack up their feces in designated bags, effectively addressing the issue of human waste accumulation on the peak.
The Procedure stipulated that climbers are required to bring down 8 kg of waste from Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse, and 3 kg of waste from Ama Dablam.
In addition to that, expedition agencies would need to meticulously register all items intended for use above the base camp, ensuring accountability for all equipment brought to the mountain. The guidelines also forbade leaving behind the food provision and the use of box tents above the base camp and mandated the retrieval of old climbing ropes.
The Procedure made it mandatory for expedition agencies to bring down the bodies of expedition members if they perish during the expedition. An estimated 200 climbers have died in Everest alone since the first ascent of the peak. About 5,000 climbers have summited the peak in the past 70 years. Nepal government so far has never brought laws to regulate expedition activities explicitly focused on reducing environmental impact on the fragile mountains.
The Procedure has been welcomed as a necessary and good initiative towards sustainable tourism and environmental conservation in the region, though contested by expedition agencies in most points. They objected to provisions regarding the size of tents and the mandatory use of locally available means of transportation like porters and yaks instead of helicopters.
The local government was forced to relax most of the provisions of the Procedure under the pressure. For example, the mandatory use of yaks and jokpe, a crossbreed of yak and Himalayan cow, to ferry goods have been changed, allowing helicopters to transport necessary supplies to the base camp, alleviating logistical challenges to build infrastructure for luxurious expeditions. The modified regulation now allows for larger dining and sleeping spaces for climbers at base camps.
Concerned authorities say that the adjustments aim to enhance the overall experience for climbers while ensuring the effective management of resources and facilities in the mountain terrain.
Chairperson Sherpa said that the municipality changed the rule to accommodate genuine grievances of the expedition agencies.
“Our desire is to make mountaineering better, promoting sustainability, not to obstruct the business. We are open to changes if it doesn’t significantly affect the mountain environment and ecology,” said Sherpa.
Rakesh Gurung, the Director of the Department of Tourism, said that most of the regulations introduced by the municipality were in line with those drafted by the federal government.
“The ministry is working to amend its own guidelines, incorporating nearly all provisions included in the municipality’s guidelines. There were genuine concerns of the expedition community, which have been addressed through mutual discussions,” said Gurung.
