How Tourism affects Mountain E
How Tourism affects Mountain EHow Tourism affects Mountain Environments
Impact of Tourism on Mountain Environment
Environmental History: A Global Perspective
Singh, SC. Impact of Tourism on Mountain Environment, Meerut, India: Research India
Publications, 1989, 377.
Deterioration of mountain environment is obviously not the only problem that
humans are dealing with in terms of pollution to the ecosystem. However, it is an ever
increasing problem, that is ruining vegetation, landscape and even mountain culture. The
book I have chosen to review is titled; Impact of Tourism on Mountain Environment. It is
not a story but rather a compilation of articles relating to the problems in the Himilayas,
specifically the Everest region. There were many articles, not all of them were related to
Everest, therefore, not all of the articles were reviewed.
Although there are many mountain environments that are falling prey to man's
commercialization, Everest seems to stick out the most. It was in 1922 that the first
attempt was made to climb the highest mountain in the world. It wasn't until 1953,
however, that a summit was actually successful, thus creating a beginning for
mountaineering in Nepal. The start of the tourist industry became a very important asset
to the Nepalese economy. The foreign exchange was one of the primary sources of
earning for the people and government. This happened to be one of the few positives that
came along with the commercialization of Mount Everest.
One of the articles I focused on the most is titled; Impact of Tourism on the
Ecosystem of Nepal. It discussed in great detail how important the land and its uses are to
the people of the Himilayas. At many of the bases of the mountain there is little
vegetation and forest remaining to cover the lower slopes. This article made it very clear
that man was creating a very big problem to the ecosystem of the Everest region.
All of the articles were very clear and concise in the way they presented their facts.
It was proven that there is pollution all along the routes, right through the base camp of
Everest, continuing up the summit itself. Direct evidence was found to back up these
statements made by the authors. Many things were found at tent sites, such as human and
animal excretement, unburnt wood, trash and various other forms of pollution. The
authors were very clear in pointing out exact locations and numbers in terms of where and
how much garbage was being left behind. It was also pointed out to the readers why
garbage breakdown is so difficult in the Everest region. Extremely low temperatures and
the limited space to allow garbage to disperse and degrade, has reached unmanageable
levels where the tourists are most plentiful.
The authors also had some positive things to say about Everest. It was...
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