KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 11

The UN General Assembly celebrated 2002 as the UN International Year of Mountains and declared December 11 as International Mountain Day. Objectively, it is celebrated to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development, and to build alliances that will bring positive change to mountain peoples and environments around the world.

In order to foster greater awareness of mountain issues, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) has declared 'Women move mountains' as the theme for this year. It attempts to recognise the role of women in identifying the issues of mountains and how they can effectively act if given the opportunity in the decision-making process. Their social activeness and equitable presence in the society with easy access to education, rights, health and natural resources are indicative of complete social development.

They are the primary protectors of local knowledge, biodiversity, mountain environment and natural resources.The effects of global warming and climate change on the mountains are increasing, and immediate action is needed to neutralise them for mountain tourism to remain as the major source of income for our mountain people.

We are neither able to double our investment in alternate sources of livelihoods nor are our voices for the protection of mountains heard or followed. As a result, the daily life of the mountain people will continue to remain pitiable in the near future.

A recent photograph of Badimalika of the far western region that went viral on social media speaks volumes about the natural beauty of this region. Tourism destinations of the far western region are still unexplored, and mountains remain unclimbed, resulting in underdevelopment of this region. Lack of knowledge about the importance of tourism, skilled human resources, infrastructure and promotion of tourism products is the major reason why tourism has failed to develop in the far western region. Consequently, local people have no alternative other than to go overseas or to India for work, especially after the devastation suffered fromthe coronavirus pandemic.

Foreign employment of the Nepalis started from the 6th century when India and Tibet used to be the major destinations, and contributes greatly in reducing poverty. The Central Bureau of Statistics in its 2020 report mentions that 56 per cent of Nepali households have at least one member of their family working abroad, contributing 23.5 per cent to Nepal'sgross domestic product.

Foreign employment has brought positive changes in the literacy and educational status whereas it has brought drastic changes in the social, environmental and cultural condition of our country.

Not a single sector was left untouched in the country and the world at large by COVID-19. As per the Department of Tourism, the number of mountaineers in 2019 was 2,166, and during the pandemic, it came down to just 447 in 2020.One tourist gives employment to approximately four people, which should give a rough picture of the pandemic's impact on the tourism sector. Two years of lockdowns to combat COV- ID drastically brought down economic activity in the mountain region, which led to mounting numbers of unemployed people and decrease in the income and spending capacity of the people, thuscreating great psychological stress to them.

Mountain-based economic activities like tourism and agriculture have collapsed, pushing the people of the mountain region towards chronic poverty, resulting in increased economic, social and gender in equality. Driven to extreme poverty, the haphazard exploitation of the rich natural resources in the fragile mountains is contributing to increased floods, landslides and other natural hazards as a resultof the disturbed ecosystem.

The justifiable consumption of natural resources holds significant importance for our future generation, and it seeks a social environment that is compatible for women to get empowered, and where they can participate actively in the decision-making process in all the social activities.

But in our society, urban women are more active in social change movements in comparison to rural women, who are deprived of any decision-making power, education, opportunity and access to resources. For social development to be sustainable, there must be revolutionary changes in women's role in both urban and rural areas.

The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) mentions in its latest report that there has been an increment of 3.68 per cent in the number of Nepalis going abroad in fiscal year 2021/2022. Our remittance economy, lack of opportunities and skills, and collapse of the local economy after COVID have forced the young generation to leave their homes for alternative livelihoods.

The rural areas are left only with women, children and old people. Thus, women must not only look after the family and children, but they must also now shoulder the responsibility of conserving the mountain environment.

Nepal's beautiful landscape, mountains and biodiversity remain unused, despite bearing the capacity to change the condition of the villages economically.

Although the number of women in foreign employment has also been increasing along with those of men, the theme 'Women move mountains' suits our country.

International Mountain Day 2022 aims to establish the importance of women in the sustainable conservation of the mountains and their environment through the minimum usage of natural resources to minimise the effect of climate change. The traditional know-how of the women, their responsible role in the management of mountain resources for the social and economic development of the mountain region and thrifty use natural resources have established them as the true custodians of the mountain environment.

Sindurakar is Chief Administrative Officer, Nepal Mountaineering Association.

A version of this article appears in the print on December 12, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.