As Nepal is home to numerous Himalayan mountains, including the world's tallest peak Sagarmatha (8,848.86m), the country is regarded as the most sought-after destination for adventurers as well as nature lovers from across the world. Before the upsurge of COVID-19 some 14 months ago, the country would play host to hundreds of thousands of tourists annually. They used to visit this naturally and culturally diverse nation with good social, ethnic and religious harmony to have a life-time experience. It needs no mention that global tourism has begun showing some signs of revival with the start of a vaccination campaign against the pandemic. Another encouraging signal is that the number of COVID-19 cases and resultant deaths has also dropped significantly in Nepal and many other nations globally over the past few months. However, we still have to remain cautious against this global health crisis as some countries like India and Brazil have lately reported new rise in the number of coronavirus infections.

Even amid this scenario, Nepal’s tourism sector is likely to rebound this spring. Many tourists, especially trekkers and mountaineers, are said to be willing to visit the country. Bearing this in mind, the Department of Tourism (DoT) under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has introduced 11 new rules with an objective of managing mountain tourism activities. With these rules, the government aims to stop climbers from taking, circulating and publishing photos and videos of people who have nothing to do with their expeditions. The government has taken such a decision after some individuals and groups were found misusing pictures and videos in the past. These rules, however, are not new. They are just an extension of the provisions made in the Criminal Code, 2017. The code itself does not allow people to take photos and film videos without taking permission from the authorities concerned. As per news carried by this daily on Thursday, officials at the DoT have said that the rules are based on the Criminal Code.

A climber is free to record still or moving images of themselves and their bid to attempt mountains. But they are not allowed to take and share photos of others or of non-mountaineering activities. In the past, some foreign as well as local climbers were found tarnishing the country’s image by capturing dead bodies on their cameras and sharing them with others. The rules have made it mandatory for climbing expeditions to inform and get permission from the DoT prior to carrying out the activities that are not related to mountaineering. It is also the responsibility of the adventure tour operating companies to identify their clients and staff participating in the climbing and submit their clients’ travel itineraries. Such companies are required to submit evidences that their clients are physically fit for climbing mountains.

The new rules are applicable to all mountain peaks that are open to mountaineers. It is true that unregulated and unchecked climbing puts lives of climbers and supporting staff at risk in the high Himalayan environment. Other mountainous nations have also implemented such rules to regulate mountaineering activities. The new mountaineering protocols are expected to deal with many problems associated with this vital yet sensitive sector and to help ensure safety of climbers, mountain guides and other workers.