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Last week, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the Nepal government to limit the number of climbing permits for Mt. Everest and other peaks. The court order comes amid the concerns that increasing human activities in the mountains is causing pollution and other harms, coupled with adverse impact of climate change. However, stakeholders say the directives made by SC are not feasible to implement, though it may have been issued with a good intention but it affects the tourism industry.

Nima Nuru Sherpa, president of Nepal Mountaineering Association, says though he honors SC order it was issued without proper study of the issue. “More than one thousand trekking industries are operating in Nepal for the same purpose and the flow and number of mountaineers are fixed only two-three months before the climbing season, so it is not possible to pick certain numbers for the climbing,” he says. 

In 2020, Nepal Army had also suggested to the Nepal government to limit the number of climbers before the beginning of the climbing season, which was met with criticism from tourism and mountaineering agencies. Multiple people who spoke with ApEx contend that the SC issued the order without the basic knowledge about the mountaineering industry.  If limitation is imposed, Sherpa says it would severely impact Nepal’s tourism industry.  Lawyer Deepak Bikram Mishra, who had filed a petition urging permits to be curtained, recently told AFP that the court had responded to public concerns about Nepal’s mountains and its environment.

The number of people climbing Everest and other peaks is increasing every year.  In 2019, there was a massive traffic jam on Everest, resulting in at least nine deaths. Since then, there has been discussion about limiting the number of climbers to the world’s highest peak. The government also formed a high-level panel to suggest ways to regulate mountain expeditions. But notably, the panel did not suggest limiting the numbers of climbers. Instead, it recommended measures such as employing experts for rope-fixing tasks, building an effective climate prediction system, fixing dates for climbing, and not allowing more than 150 climbers in a day. The panel also suggested effective coordination among key government agencies. In 2023, altogether 478 permits were issued to climb Everest; 287 people made successful ascent. For this spring, the Department of Tourism has issued over 400 permits. It also issued climbing permits for more than 30 other mountains. 

Along with limiting the permits, the joint bench of justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Sushma Lalita Mathema has ruled the government to ban the use of helicopters in the areas, except for emergency rescue. The court has directed expedition teams to maintain the transparency of the items they plan to take with them and they should be recorded at the departure point. The court has also expressed concerns about the growing impact of climate change in Nepal’s mountainous areas.

Stating that climate-induced disasters are affecting the tourists, local residents and minority groups, the court has also directed the government to undertake special care and protective measures in response to the impacts of climate change on mountains and glaciers.  There are growing concerns about the growing pollution in the mountainous region, and mainly in the Everest base camp. The government and various non-governmental organizations are engaged in waste management at the base camp, but the efforts so far have not been effective. 

On this issue, the SC has said that there is a need for proper waste management in mountainous regions to prevent adverse effects on the environment and human health. The court has directed the government to enhance coordination between government and non-governmental agencies engaged in sanitation and to ensure the effective implementation of existing laws. It has instructed the government and stakeholders concerned to coordinate garbage and corpse management and to establish a monitoring team of experts.

In February this year, Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality enacted Base Camp Management Procedures 2024 to manage the human activities in the foothills of various mountains in the region, including Mt. Everest. As per the new regulations, climbers are required to carry a poop bag or biodegradable bag to manage and bring back their waste from higher altitudes of the mountains.

Migma Tshering Sherpa, chairperson of the rural municipality, says they have implemented some measures that aim to control the pollution, waste and other aspects in the mountain.  “We are coordinating with the provincial and central government in order to implement the provisions mentioned in the procedures and we hope that situation will improve.”  Sherpa, however, doubts whether the order issued by the Supreme Court can be implemented.  According to a study conducted by the government, there are over 1310 mountains eligible for climbing, out of them only 414 have been opened for commercial mountaineering expeditions.

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Year wise permits 

The Special Court on Tuesday sentenced the then Managing Director of the Nepal Telecom Sunil Paudel to nine years in prison.

The bench of Special Court Chairman Tek Narayan Kunwar and member Murari Babu Shrestha handed down the sentence to Paudel in the National Payment Gateway case.

The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 230. 75 million on him.

Paudel was proven guilty in the corruption case on April 19.

Earlier, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority had filed a case at the Special Court against Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Madhu Kumar Marasini, the then Secretary at the Ministry of Science and Technology and National Information Technology Center Chairman Sanjay Sharma, the then Executive Director of the National Information Technology Center Pranita Upadhyay, Managing Director of the Nepal Telecommunications Authority Sunil Paudel, the then Director at the National Information Technology Center  Safal Shrestha, the then Assistant Director at the National Information Technology Center Ramesh Pokharel, the then Account Officer at the National Information Technology Center Ram Bahadur Buda and Computer Engineer at the National Information Technology Center Ram Sharan Gayak on the charge of embezzling funds totaling Rs 232.75 million during the procurement of software for National Payment Gateway in 2018.

As many as 414 people have taken permission for climbing Mount Everest or Sagarmatha, the world's highest peak, in the spring season this year.

According to the Department of Tourism, a total of 414 climbers, including 75 women and 339 men of 41 mountaineering groups have so far been permitted to climb Mount Everest.

The highest number of climbers (478) had obtained permission for ascent to Mount Everest last year.

According to Section Officer at the Department, Chun Bahadur Tamang, a total of 971 mountaineers from 112 climbing groups had obtained permission for ascending to 30 mountains, including the Mount Everest this season.

A total royalty of Rs 674.7 million has been so far collected from mountaineering permission. Around Rs 592.3 million has been raised from Mount Everest alone in the season.

A tiger and a rhino were found dead in Chitwan National Park on Tuesday.

The tiger was found dead on the bank of Rapti River at Bhimpurghat of the national park near Sauraha.

The national park’s patrol team found the tiger dead this morning.

It has been said that the tiger may have died due to natural causes.

Similarly, a rhino was found dead at Lamichaur in Amaltari, Nawalpur.

The male rhino was found dead at 9:45 am today.

Information Officer at the national park Ganesh Tiwari said that the rhino has died due to natural causes.