Waste Management Outlook for Mountain Regions

approximately 1,000 in 1990 to around 6,000 in 2010–2011 – during the five month season from November to March (Barros, Pickering and Gudes, 2015). The Himalayas are another popular destination for mountaineers, most notably Nepal. The Mount Everest region, along the Khumbu Valley, has experienced a dramatic rise in tourist numbers over the years, from 20 visitors in 1964 to 18,200 during the 1997-98 season (Byers, 2009), with a further increase of almost 82 per cent between 2006 and 2012 – with numbers totalling 36,518 visitors in 2012 (Nepal, 2016). In the Makalu-Barun National Park and Buffer Zone, east of Lukla, there were an estimated 800–1000 visitors for the whole of 2007; this increased to 812 for the 2012 autumn season alone, representing an almost doubling of visitor

numbers (Byers, 2014). Other climbing destinations that have seen considerable increases in the number of visitors include Mount Kilimajaro (Tanzania) and Mount Kenya (Kenya).

Environmental and waste impacts of mountaineering and trekking

Some of the most common environmental impacts associated with mountain-based adventure tourism include the development and use of access tracks, campsites and refuges that lead to vegetation clearing and soil erosion, altering of landscapes and water flows, water and air pollution, wildlife displacement, the introduction of exotic and invasive species and diseases, and waste (UNEP, 2007; Pickering and Barros, 2015; Ars and Bohanec, 2010).

Trekking in Tajikistan. Photo © iStock/robas

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