Focus on Arts and Ecology

People’s Daily reports that human activity in the Everest region, which has continued to increase since the 1950’s, has resulted in the accumulation of hundreds of tonnes of rubbish. The director of the Tibet Autonomous Region Sports Bureau, Nima Ciren announced that next year areas of the mountain above 5,100 metres would be closed to tourists for environmental protection. With the help of the recently launched Tibet Himalayas Alpine Environmental Protection Foundation, the bureau plans to reformulate management and protection measures in the region.

Below an elevation of 6,500 metres, most of the waste is domestic, made up of food packaging, drinks bottles and human excrement. Above 6,500 metres, mountaineering gear such as ropes, tents, and oxygen tanks litter the mountain. Global warming has caused trash that was previously hidden by ice and snow to re-emerge. 

However, the region’s high altitude presents waste clearing challenges: not only is it more difficult for hikers to manage waste while making ascents, workers clearing the rubbish face the same physical challenges wrought by thin air and harsh conditions as mountaineers.