Increasing number of mountaineering expeditions is good news for the tourism industry. However, due to inefficient human waste management, such expeditions invariably end up contributing to a "waste dumping yard" at the highest peak of the world, Mt. Qomolangma.
Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of Nepal Mountaineering Association told a local media on Friday that the mountain environment is threatened by the problem of human waste due to lack of proper management.
"When the snow melts at higher altitudes, the smell of human waste including that of urine becomes intolerable," he was quoted by a leading website, eKantipur.com as saying.
At base camps above the Khumbu region, there are portable plastic drums or barrels for human waste collection, but they are not hygienic and are used carelessly, Sherpa said. Besides, expedition teams fail to make proper toilet pits, displaying inadequate consideration for sanitation and the environment.
Camp 1, at 6,400 meters is littered with toilet paper and human waste left behind by expedition teams, Sherpa added.
Nishant Shrestha, an official at Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee at Namche in northeastern Nepal, said there is lack of research at the higher altitudes of Qomolangma with regard to human waste.
"We can manage other garbage in the Everest (Qomolangma) region. However, we have failed to work on human waste management till now," he said.
Shrestha added, an increasing number of expeditions definitely impact negatively on the mountain environment. "Human waste littering the higher camps do not melt and thus remains for a longer period," he said.
According to the report, a total of 31 expeditions have permission for mountaineering to Mt. Qomolangma this year.
Meanwhile, Eco Everest Expedition has for the first time initiated use of biodegradable bags and clean mountain cans for collection of human waste at high altitudes.
Biodegradable bags are environmentally friendly and can be disposed of in any trash container.
Ramesh Kumar KC from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and CivilAviation said that there is no specific consideration for management of human waste at base camp and the higher altitude camps, under the code of conduct set for expedition teams.
Source:Xinhua
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