New strategy targets mountaineering trash, climate risks and accountability to protect fragile mountain ecosystems
KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 23
High above the clouds, where prayer flags snap in thin air, and climbers chase lifelong dreams, another, quieter legacy has been building for decades: discarded oxygen cylinders, torn tents, frozen human waste, and even the remains of those who never made it back. As climate change accelerates glacial melt, much of what was once buried is now reappearing along popular climbing routes.
Confronted with mounting waste from Everest to Annapurna and growing concern from local communities, the Government of Nepal has approved a comprehensive five-year strategy to address environmental damage in its high mountain regions. The plan marks a shift away from reliance on seasonal clean-up campaigns toward a more preventive, accountability-driven approach to waste management in the Himalayas.
The Himal Safa Rakhne Sambandhi Rananeeti (2082–2086), endorsed by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, is the government's most ambitious attempt yet to impose order on a system long held together by seasonal clean-ups and voluntary compliance. The strategy seeks to introduce accountability and sustainability to waste management in Nepal's high mountain regions-areas where regulation has historically struggled to keep pace with tourism growth.
The world's highest peaks are becoming the world's highest dumping grounds, and the rapid growth of mountaineering and trekking has strained fragile ecosystems beyond their breaking point.
The plan responds to mounting concerns over discarded oxygen cylinders, plastics, food packaging, climbing gear and human waste that now litter popular climbing routes and camps, particularly in the Everest and Khumbu regions. Beyond harming the mountains' natural beauty, unchecked waste threatens local communities, wildlife and water sources far downstream.
A problem decades in the making
Waste in the Himalayas is not new. It began almost as soon as mountaineering itself did, after the first ascent of Everest in 1953. Each expedition left behind small traces-clothing, shoes, oxygen bottles, ropes, ladders, food cans, medical supplies and, in some cases, the bodies of deceased climbers. Over time, those traces accumulated into tonnes.
For years, the cold preserved everything. But warming temperatures are now revealing what glaciers once buried. Veteran climber Appa Sherpa, who has summited Everest 21 times, has spoken of shrinking glaciers and old trash reappearing at Camps II, III and IV. At the South Col and near the Hillary Step, climbers report seeing human remains-a grim reminder that the mountain remembers everything.
According to mountaineer Alan Arnette, at least 304 climbers died in the Everest region between 1923 and 2019, and more than 200 bodies are believed to remain above base camp. As snow melts faster, these realities are becoming impossible to ignore.
Clean-up campaigns: heroic, but not enough
Over the decades, several high-profile clean-up campaigns have made a dent, but not solved the problem.
Japanese climber Ken Noguchi led five campaigns between 2000 and 2007, removing about 90 tonnes of waste from the Everest region.
In 2008, Asian Trekking launched the Eco Everest Expedition, which collected 20,000 kilograms of waste over 11 years by requiring climbers to bring back trash during descent. Two years later, a group of 31 climbers conducted a clean-up campaign above 8,000 metres under the Extreme Everest Expedition 2010, collecting 1,800 kilograms of waste and two human bodies.
Since 2011, the Department of Tourism has required every climber to return at least eight kilograms of waste from above base camp-a rule that has shown positive results. Joint campaigns involving the Nepal Army, government agencies, local bodies and community organizations have removed thousands of kilograms more. In 2019 alone, more than 10 tonnes of waste were collected from Everest Base Camp and Camp II.
During the spring 2024 season, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) managed over 77 tonnes of waste, including general trash, metal and human excreta. The Nepal Army also recovered five human bodies that season. More recently, the Project Care campaign removed 5,000 kilograms of waste from Mt. Everest in 2025.
Yet authorities now openly acknowledge that these campaigns have treated symptoms, not causes. Each successful clean-up has been followed by another climbing season-and another accumulation of waste-leaving the underlying system unchanged and increasingly overwhelmed.
Climate change raises the stakes
Climate change has added urgency to the waste problem. Melting glaciers are revealing trash and human remains that were buried for decades. A study by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) warns that up to 36 percent of Himalayan snow could melt by the end of the century-and as much as 64 percent if carbon emissions remain unchecked. As ice retreats, buried waste will continue to resurface, increasing health and environmental risks.
For communities downstream, this is no abstract threat. Rivers born in the Himalayas sustain millions of lives, farms and cities.
Nepal's Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to a clean and healthy environment under Article 30, and access to clean drinking water and sanitation under Article 35. But in the Himalayas, where enforcement is weakest and access is hardest, those constitutional promises are increasingly at odds with reality. Rivers that originate beneath the world's highest peaks-once considered pristine-are now carrying traces of waste generated far upstream.
Successive national plans, from the Fifteenth to the ongoing Sixteenth Five-Year Plan, have prioritized sustainable development and environmental protection. The new strategy acknowledges, however, that implementation gaps remain wide in remote Himalayan regions, where infrastructure, manpower and monitoring are limited.
Laws in place, enforcement lagging
Nepal already has an extensive legal framework for waste management. The Constitution's Schedules 8 and 9 assign shared responsibility to federal, provincial and local governments, while various laws and policies-such as the Local Government Operation Act 2017, Environment Protection Act 2019, Environment Protection Rules 2020, Forest Act 2019, Solid Waste Management Act 2011, and the Plastic Bag Restriction Action Plan 2021-provide legal provisions for waste management in the Himalayan region.
The Solid Waste Management Act requires the construction and operation of infrastructure such as transfer stations, landfill sites, compost plants, biogas plants, and facilities for waste collection, final disposal, and processing. In reality, most Himalayan settlements lack even basic waste infrastructure.
Following the 2016 local-level restructuring, frontline responsibility for waste management in mountain settlements now rests with local governments-often with limited budgets and technical capacity. Poor coordination among different levels of government has further weakened enforcement.
A shift from cleaning to preventing
The newly approved strategy signals a break from Nepal's long reliance on episodic clean-up drives. Instead of focusing primarily on removing waste after it accumulates, the government is now pushing a preventive model-one that places responsibility squarely on those who generate waste in the first place.
At its core is stricter enforcement of the Polluter Pays Principle. Expedition operators and climbers will be held accountable for segregating, returning and properly disposing of all waste they generate. Mandatory use of poop bags above base camp and stricter waste audits for expeditions, already enforced in Everest since 2024, are now institutionalized across all peaks.
The plan envisions integrated waste management systems across Everest, Khumbu, Annapurna and other Himalayan regions, with clear accountability among ministries, local governments, expedition teams and community organizations. Climbers and trekking groups will undergo mandatory environmental orientation, while equipment checklists will ensure items taken up are brought back down. The strategy also prioritizes investment in technology, trained personnel and year-round infrastructure.
In a sign of how technology is being embraced, SPCC, Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, and Airlift Technology Pvt. Ltd, Nepal's pioneering drone company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for joint collaboration aimed at utilizing advanced drone technology for efficient management of garbage in the Khumbu region mountains.
Local governments will continue issuing garbage clearance certificates, while organizations like SPCC in Khumbu and the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) in the Annapurna region-formally entrusted with waste management responsibility by local authorities-will play central operational roles.
What stakeholders are saying
Stakeholders, from Sherpa communities and hotel owners to trekking operators and mountaineering associations, share a rare consensus: everyone wants clean mountains. But many also point to gaps in monitoring, weak enforcement and trekkers who bypass systems altogether.
At the inception workshop of the Swachya Sagarmatha: Sustainable Waste Management for Clean Himalaya Project by WWF Nepal and SPCC on December 12, the urgency and scope of the challenge became clear. "For over three decades, SPCC has been at the forefront of waste management in the Everest region. But the scale and complexity of waste is growing rapidly-faster than our systems were designed to handle," said Tshering Sherpa, CEO of SPCC. "This project strengthens our community-led model by improving infrastructure, advancing recycling practices, and empowering local people with the skills and knowledge they need. We are grateful to see all stakeholders come together to prioritize the sustainable waste management and wellbeing of our mountains."
Dr. Ghana Shyam Gurung, Country Representative of WWF Nepal, emphasized the broader significance. "The Everest region is not only a symbol of Nepal's natural heritage but also a global icon of resilience and environmental stewardship. As tourism grows, so does our responsibility to protect this natural world heritage site. This project brings together all key actors, from local communities to national authorities to build a waste management system that is sustainable, practical, and locally owned. Our shared commitment today reflects a long-term vision for a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient Sagarmatha."
Local authorities in Khumbu say regulations like the Base Camp Management Regulations 2080 have improved coordination among SPCC, ward offices, guides and expedition leaders. Still, they stress the need for legally backed institutions-not just voluntary goodwill-to manage waste transport, monitoring and disposal.
There is also growing recognition that accidents and deaths at altitude require clear protocols-not only for safety, but for dignity and environmental responsibility.
The government has made clear the goal is not to discourage climbing, but to ensure that Nepal's greatest natural asset is not slowly destroyed by the very industry it supports. Sustainable mountain tourism will be a priority, not an afterthought.
The Himalayas stand at a tipping point. For decades, they have absorbed the impact of human ambition-expedition after expedition, season after season. Whether that ambition can finally align with responsibility will determine what future generations inherit: peaks defined by wonder, or peaks buried under warnings.
