Spiti, a remote valley tucked away in the Trans-Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh with a population of little over 11,000 inhabitants has been attracting a large number of tourists. The region has also seen the obvious negatives of tourism, such as an increase in garbage, especially from plastic water bottles. And this, even inspite of the fact that Himanchal Pradesh was among the few progressive states which had banned the use of plastic much earlier. Ecosphere, a social enterprise, began working in Spiti in 2002. A collaborative effort with the local community of Spiti, Ecosphere works on a wide array of initiatives ranging from responsible eco- travel, renewable energy to conservation of the environment and cultural heritage of the region. They have set up a drinking water re-filling facility where travellers can come and refill their bottles with safe drinking water for free. However, such positive examples are few and far in between and perhaps serve as the proverbial tip of the iceberg as far as tackling the littering of the Himalayas is concerned.
Writing in the Himalaya Environment Trust News letter, Przemek Bucharowski, a photographer and Mountaineer from Poland states, “ One of the problems is the amount of garbage left by the tourists. It’s estimated that about 1000 tourists leave approximately one cubic meter of garbage annually. There are no waste bins located on tourist paths consequently tourist leave the trash everywhere on their way, especially nearby tourist huts”. In his home country, Polish Tatra’s National Park introduced several public actions in order to clean up the mountains. Since 2013, the volunteers are collecting trash from tourist paths on a weekly basis. The park also introduced a more pro-active solution – “Pick-up the garbage” plan which encourages people to reduce their own wastes. Tourists can pick up eco- friendly polythene bag at park’s counter, fill it with garbage and return in on the way back, the bags are sponsored by one of the biggest polythene producers in Poland, the wastes are recycled later on the lowlands. He further states that “during their 55 days long trek through Kumaon and Garhwal Himalaya in 2013, they encountered this earthbound problem – trash left by the people everywhere on their 500 km long path. We had mixed feelings – beauty of Himalayas covered by garbage. The litter is produced by everybody – villagers, trekking tourists, mule porters, and pilgrims. I was surprised that none of those groups followed simple rule – take your garbage with you, to the lowlands.”
A special National Geographic news Series on global water issues has highlighted the adverse effect being caused by the large number of pilgrims venturing out on the Amarnath Yatra, every year. The increased human traffic is threatening the environment in this fragile ecosystem, a major source of water for the Indus River. As the number of people increases, so does trash and contamination. ‘The snowcapped mountains along the trail are now black with the pollution generated from hundreds of thousands of people. To reach the cave, pilgrims walk through piles of garbage, water bottles, gas cylinders, human faeces, and occasional horse carcasses. The increased traffic has other ramifications’ according to Shakil Romshoo, a professor of science at Kashmir University. ‘A glacier is subzero, but thousands of people emit radiation at 37 degrees Celsius, whether it is yatri [pilgrims] or anybody,’ he says. ‘Start a helicopter and there is a big radiation and temperatures rise. So, definitely that encourages the melting of snow and glacier resources in the region.’
Similar is the case at Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Trikuta hills in Jammu region. Although the Shrine Board has the capacity and resources to handle the garbage generated by lakhs of devotees visiting the Shrine, still a casual inspection of the hill side along the pilgrimage track will show heaps of wrappers, plastic and used plates and glasses, a sight not befitting the divinity enshrined in Trikuta Hills. This story is repeated all along the Himalayas from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh. The problem of garbage littering in this vast area is also therefore of Himalayan proportions. In areas with high concentrations of tourist activities and appealing natural attractions, waste disposal is a serious problem and improper disposal can be a major despoiler of the natural environment – rivers, scenic areas, and roadsides.
David Molden, the director general of the Katmandu based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), says that the ‘Governments have a key role in setting the policy framework and regulations. There needs to be a policy at a local and national level to monitor the flow of tourists in these fragile ecosystems while providing sustainable ecotourism and building the local economy.’
One would hope that State Governments, Environment Groups and NGOs take up this challenge to help generate awareness and greater collective action to clean up The Himalayas and restore them to pristine glory. As per Schedule VII of the Companies Act ‘ensuring environmental sustainability, ecological balance, protection of flora and fauna, animal welfare, agroforestry, conservation of natural resources and maintaining quality of soil, air and water’ is an eligible wp activity. Efforts towards a cleaning up the Himalayas can be greatly augmented by Corporate Houses if they adopt it as part of their wp regime. And what better time than it being done as part of PM Narendra Modi’s Swach Bharat campaign, starting right from the top, literally.
