Karakorum Green and Clean
In Karakorum Green and Clean, has been one of the most successful and useful campaigns in the region. This initiative is more than just a cleaning campaign. It also serves as a way to raise awareness among expeditors and locals about the importance of environmental conservation and separate waste collection.
More than three tons were collected during the first cleaning campaign in 2006. Three years later, it was time to launch the second mission. The goal of the mission was to clean up the Baltoro Glacier, K2 basecamp, and collect eight tons worth of waste.
The third campaign that covered 7300 meters was aimed at the Baltoro Glacier and K2 high camps. The campaign collected 13 tons, including 2,800 kilograms of human waste. The cleaning initiative reached a height of 7,800 meters in summer 2011. This corresponds to Gasherbrum Camp 4. More than 8 tons of garbage were collected on this mount and Baltoro.
Every year, the cleaning staff is made up of locals. They choose new porters from various regions in Pakistan to be ambassadors for an environmental conservation culture.
We can see the results of our efforts: from the 30 tons collected of waste to the 20 toilets that were installed in the Baltoro region to prevent human waste.
Each year, more than 6000 people (local staff, tourists, and 700 climbers and trekkers) visit the glacier. There are more than 130 guides who are professionally trained, and 60 porters have also completed training courses.
Mission to clean the Himalayas
Since a few years, volunteers in Nepal and India are cleaning the Himalayan trekking and climbing paths; this year, they have been joined by Pakistani volunteers.
The Himalayas are littered with the trash of walkers. Food cans, plastic bags and other trash littered the mountains and streams that were once so pristine.
Several years ago, in Nepal and India, volunteers formed teams to clean trails. It was a successful initiative, but it could be overwhelmed by irresponsible tourists. In Pakistan, this year volunteers have joined the cleanup movement.
Some young residents from Baltistan, in the Karakoram Mountains, have cleaned up the trash in tourist camps as well as on the 100-kilometer route leading to Concordia/K-2 – the second-highest peak in the World. They also removed garbage from the surface of the Baltoro Glacier, which is part of the Karakorum Range.
The initiative, called the Baltoro/K2 Cleaning Up Expedition Camp 2015: Sustaining eco-tourism was undertaken by 35 volunteers under the leadership of ten members from the Pakistan United State Alumni Network.
This route is used by over 20,000 mountaineers and trekkers each year in order to reach the base camp of Concordia/K2. The mules carry a lot of their luggage, and the corpses of these animals and other pack animals were a major problem for the cleanup crew.
The volunteers collected 2,350 kilograms in two weeks, sometimes working at temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius. They also collected animal carcasses, paper, and plastic. The waste was given to Central Karakorum National Park, which has a landfill.
Shamshad Hussain said that the team had taken initiative to instill a sense responsibility and awareness. He added that tour operators should train their porters and staff to not throw trash everywhere.
The General Secretary of the Pakistan Tour Operators Association. He blamed the government, even though it receives a fee per tourist, for failing to adopt a system and sustainable mechanism for collecting waste and disposing of it.
Before 2007, each tour group was responsible for collecting its garbage. After 2007, the task was handed over to an organization called CNR. This organization has stopped collecting rubbish since 2013. She stated that the
CKNP authorities are now responsible for the disposal of rubbish, which is under the Forest and Tourism Department of Gilgit-Baltistan. Tour operators pay the provincial government US$68 for each mountaineer and US$50 per trekker.
However, was not happy with the committee’s work. She wanted to expand the committee so that it included officials, tour operators, and environmentalists.
CKNP Director confirmed that the park collects rubbish at the season’s end. The director of CKNP said that it collects rubbish at the end of every season.
He said that some rubbish dumps were 50 years old, and they could not be cleared quickly. CKNP staff collected 3,050 kg of trash in this year. During the time that EV-K2-CNR operated, they had worked with CKNP on setting up mobile toilets. These toilets are now unused and adding to the problem.
Everest Trail Polluted
The Himalayas are littered with rubbish. Over 700 climbers, their guides, and porters attempt to climb Mount Everest every year and leave behind trash. Over the last few years, there have been volunteers who do a clean-up, but it is not enough.
President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, says that the measures taken to clean up the mountains are insufficient. “Loaded climbers and porters return empty-handed. This means that they leave the waste there every year. It costs a lot to collect all the cans, jars oxygen cylinders, and other materials.”
Since 2014, every climber must bring back at least 8 kilograms of waste to the base camp. If you fail to comply, the government will forfeit the deposit that was paid for your climbing permit. This can range from US$ 250 up to US$ 4,000 depending on which peak and trail you are on.
Climbers aren’t the only ones to blame. Around 100,000 people visit the famous hiking trail that circles Mount Annapurna, in western Nepal. The trail is becoming dangerously polluted. The trekking companies say they have strict rules for their clients and employees.
The Chairman of Snowy Horizon Treks and Expedition. A tour operator. “The team should destroy or recycle before the concerned officials in the region and bring back any garbage that cannot destroyed or recycled immediately,” he said. Locals are saying that the rules should be enforced more strictly.
Valley of Flowers
The only way Indian authorities could save the Valley of Flowers, located in the Himalayas of Uttarakhand, was to ban all visitors for more than ten years. After tourists were allowed back in, guides were now under strict instructions that they could be prosecuted for any litter left behind.
The Gangotri Glacier, the source of Hindus’ holy river Ganga, was the biggest problem in India. Rubbish kept piling up near the mouth the glacier until a group led by Rishikesh based Swami Sivananda started a campaign to clean it up and to encourage visitors to throw their trash away. They were able to exert a certain amount of moral authority, but not completely.
The two Indian states that have banned plastic bags. It is easier to implement, as almost all traffic entering the state passes over the same bridge. Military officers in Sikkim were forced to ask for volunteers to clean some of the most popular trekking trails in the area, particularly around the Kanchenjunga National Park.
This park is overrun in the shadow of the third-highest mountain in the world, especially during March and April when the rhododendrons bloom.
The Rohtang Pass, in Himachal Pradesh on the route between Manali and Leh is yet another area that has become so popular, and so full of trash, that India’s Supreme Court had to intervene and ban all tourist vehicles from this area.
Hotel owners in Manali have now agreed to work together to clean the pass and petition the Supreme Court to lift the ban. Going back to the old ways of doing business will not work.
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Who Left It, Who Will Clean It Up, and What Should Happen to Those Responsible?
What is the cause of the piles on K2?
As soon as photos of abandoned tents, and piles, of crap, appeared on the internet, a cleaning program had already begun.
The Central Karakoram National Park team waited until all climbers had descended before ascending to the higher camps to collect the majority of garbage and old ropes. Between July 19 and August 18, 1,610kg was collected between K2 Base Camp to Camp 4.
Pakistan’s Drinking Water
CKNP ecologist, told ExplorersWeb it is up to each climber to keep the mountains clean. Camp 2 is not the only thing that looks bad. The fragile glacial ecosystem is being irreparably damaged.
Karakorum is home to endangered wildlife as well as many human communities. It is also a source of drinking water for the 221 million people in the country (from the Baltoro Biafo and Hispar Glaciers).
His work is extensive. He helps to protect wildlife, and he collaborates with the local villages.
He said, “Since the year 2015, the CKNP has been in charge of managing wastes in the Karakoram.” In the past, we relied on the work done by NGOs and cleaning missions. The biggest problem is the vast area that we need to cover. “The approach trek to K2 includes 62kms of glacial terrain.”
There is More Garbage Than Ever.
“Last season, which was relatively quiet, we collected 14,200kg of [garbage] between the Baltoro base camp and the 8,000m camps. This year we have recovered 20,000kg.
The CKNP relies on a team of 15 people to collect garbage. Not everyone is able to climb K2 and clean it.
He said, “We needed to hire climbers who could be at high altitudes and in bad conditions.” After the media reports, we told them (the hired climbers) to concentrate first on Camp 2 before moving on to Camp 1 and Camp 3 The team made it to Camp 4 in large part. “We also tried to recover as many old ropes and tethers as we could.”
The situation in Camp 2 this year was particularly bad due to high temperatures. The snow was partially melted, exposing garbage that had accumulated for years.
Every year, the number of visitors to CKNP increases. Yasir Abdulas said, “We installed portable toilets and trash bins along the Baltoro as well as in Base Camp.” “And there’s a new incinerator at Askole. We only ask that the K2 Expeditions bring their garbage to Base Camp. From that point on, we will be responsible for the garbage. We will transport it 100km to Askole, where we will incinerate it. “But the climbers should at least do this job (bring it down).”
Investigative and Punitive Actions are Coming.
The Gilgit-Baltistan Government has also called for an investigation to determine who dumped the trash.
The notice stated that “all irresponsible tour companies [should] be listed on a blacklist and denied future trekking permissions”
