KATHMANDU, Dec 17: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has unveiled a new action plan aimed at managing waste and easing overcrowding in the Himalayas, though implementation is expected to be a formidable challenge.
On Tuesday, the government made public the ‘Action Plan to Keep Mountains Clean’, outlining policy measures intended to curb the growing accumulation of waste on major peaks and regulate the rising number of climbers. The plan acknowledges that waste on Himalayan mountains has been increasing every year, largely due to uncontrolled expedition permits and inadequate enforcement mechanisms.
According to the work plan, legal provisions will be introduced to regulate the number of climbers based on a mountain’s carrying capacity, available climbing windows, and climbers’ preferred timeframes. The document admits that the government has so far issued climbing permits indiscriminately, prioritizing royalty collection over environmental sustainability.
The ministry now says waste management must go hand in hand with climber regulation, introducing mandatory rules to ensure waste generated during expeditions is properly collected and disposed of.
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For Mount Everest, the plan mandates the establishment of a temporary garbage collection center at Camp II. Climbers and their support staff will be required to bring back all waste and deposit it at the collection point at Camp II during descent. The government also plans to conduct regular awareness sessions, strengthen monitoring at base camps during peak seasons, and explore the feasibility of relocating Everest Base Camp.
The action plan, approved by Tourism Minister Anil Kumar Sinha on December 14, the day he assumed office, is targeted through 2030 and is built around five key strategies. These include studying the feasibility of using ropeways and drones for waste collection at the base camps of mountains with high climbing activity.
The plan further stipulates that flags and banners carried above base camp must be biodegradable. If non-biodegradable materials are used, climbers will be required to bring them back. Any unused materials from rope fixing, ladder installation, and other preparatory work before the climbing season must also be retrieved.
Despite the ambitious provisions, industry stakeholders remain skeptical. Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) President Sagar Pandey described the plan as “good on paper but difficult to implement.”
“These rules will not be effective unless we ensure the high-end and responsible mountaineers,” Pandey said, adding that each climber should be accompanied by at least two support staff to manage waste and ensure safety.
Pandey also pointed out that retrieving bodies from high-altitude zones remains a serious challenge. “Many climbers today do not even have proper insurance. This makes airlifting injured climbers or recovering bodies extremely difficult, forcing guides to leave bodies and belongings on the mountains,” he said.
Currently, waste collection in the mountains is largely carried out by the Nepali Army. Since 2019, the Army has collected 119,056 kilograms of garbage through its Everest Cleanup Campaign, including 21,875 kilograms of biodegradable waste and 97,181 kilograms of non-biodegradable waste. The campaign has also recovered 12 human bodies and four skeletons.
Mountain cleanup efforts in Nepal date back to 2000, when Japanese climber Ken Noguchi launched a cleanup campaign. By 2007, around 90 quintals of garbage had been collected from the Everest region alone.
The Department of Tourism has enforced a rule since 2011 requiring both Nepali and foreign climbers to bring back at least eight kilograms of waste from Everest expeditions. However, weak enforcement has turned much of the Himalayan region into what critics describe as an open dumping ground, with only limited compliance.
While the new work plan signals a policy shift toward environmental responsibility, experts warn that without strict enforcement, coordination with stakeholders, and political commitment, the government’s vision of cleaner mountains may remain an uphill battle.
