Coming across a piece of litter can be
reassuring to the lost wanderer but certainly serves to
destroy any illusion of breaking new ground and is utterly
objectionable when encountered in an
otherwise pristine wilderness. Regrettably on all popular
climbing and trekking routes in the Nepal
Himalaya previous tourists have left much evidence of their
passage - indeed one route is now
referred to as the "Andrex Trail" while the South Col
on Everest is the world's highest rubbish
dump with its jettisoned oxygen cylinders and abandoned climbing
gear.
The basic solution is simple - "Pack it in, pack it out" - but the problem lies with enforcement.
Climbing expeditions are now required to
pay a substantial deposit ( in addition to the substantial
fee for their climbing permit ) in guarantee of clearing the
mountain but the liaison officer paid
and responsible for ensuring this rarely ventures above base camp
and is also unlikely to be too
demanding in fear of jeopardising the expected baksheesh.
Only group treks are permitted in certain
restricted areas such as the Kangchenjunga region and
trekking agencies must sign an agreement promising to protect the
environment but on my visit I
found many dirty lunch places and campsites - in the wilderness
there is nobody to police the
regulations! A group some two days ahead I knew to be Swiss from
their trail of distinctive,
chocolate wrappers ( and confirmed by their entries in the
logbooks at the permit checkpoints ).
However in Switzerland mountain paths tend to be impeccably clean
- there people are employed to
pick up the litter - an expensive remedy.
As all bottled and canned foodstuffs are
brought by camping treks from Kathmandu some of the
better agencies require their sirdars to bring back the empties.
Donations of useful containers to
villagers are permitted, provided a receipt is obtained, but
otherwise a fine is imposed for any
shortfall.
Another step in the right direction is the
move to ensure all trekking guides are qualified and
registered. Since passing the official training course Nima Lakpa
Sherpa, my sirdar on recent treks,
has become scrupulously conscientious about scavanging for litter
- a marked contrast with his
early treks as a porter and kitchenboy when he thought nothing of
discarding the odd biscuit or
sweet wrapper. However, as is the way in Nepal, many of the
private, self-employed guides merely
obtain the required identity badges through friends in high
places with a little bit of "ghoos"
( the endemic commission charged for special service by officials
- ie bribe ).
It is the cook squads though that tend to
be responsible for leaving dirty lunch and camping places.
In large trekking groups it is customary for them to be left
behind by the sirdar and members still
cleaning their utensils after meals and in their haste to catch
up with the group abandon sites
without properly tidying them. Agencies with overtight schedules
( for commercial advantage to
reduce their charges - every extra day puts up the price ) are
particularly guilty.
Burning rubbish might seem an obvious
solution but one must be careful - cooking fires are
sacrosanct with mystical properties and to throw on a piece of
litter can cause offence and
instant unpopularity. It is perfectly acceptable however to use a
separate fire and there is talk
of installing an incinerator at the Everest base camp.
Cost of course is a major consideration as
with the enormous pile of empty bottles awaiting
disposal at Shyangboche, the small airstrip above Namche Bazaar.
Perhaps the international brewing
company that has featured Kathmandu in its expensive
advertisements could pay for the uplift.
However even in affluent Switzerland there is an unsightly
rubbish tip at most alpine huts.
A pleasant exception to the norm is the
approach from Pokhara to the Annapurna Sanctuary. Here the
onus is put on the local lodges by ACAP ( Annapurna Conservation
Area Project ) to keep their
surroundings tidy or to face sanctions including possible loss of
licence. Similar schemes are also
underway in the Sagarmatha ( Nepalese name for Everest ) and
Langtang National Parks, the other
two areas most frequented by independent, "tea-shop"
trekkers.
However it is only once everybody adheres
to the concerned backpacker's other maxim "Leave nothing
but your footprints" that the vexed problem of litter in the
wilderness and mountains will be
solved. Persistent personal example helps. Also remonstration as
I am wont, as necessary, to
reproach my trekking staff:- "Fowar! Mila! Ramro chaina!"
( Dirty! Dirty! Not good! )
A sense of perspective must
nevertheless be
retained - at the base camp for Dhaulagiri at the foot
of its towering "Little Eiger"
Face the huge
accumulation of rusty cans, the product of some forty
years of expeditions and a major
eyesore when viewed on its own,
pales into insignificance within
the overwhelming grandeur of the
surrounding himalayan landscape.
