Devastating Effects Of Climate Change

Bini Dahal

One of the reasons why Nepal is distinctly known to the outside world is because of her numerous high mountains, including Sagarmatha, the tallest in the globe.  The unique Himalaya Shangri-las have given a fillip to the country’s tourism industry. But it is rather worrying that the growing climate change effects have placed those beautiful peaks as well as the whole mountain ecosystem in a very vulnerable state.

Climate change is reported to have impacted Everest Base Camp (EBC), located at an elevation of 5,364 metres above sea level. As per media reports, the government is thinking of coming up with a decision on relocating EBC after holding extensive discussions with stakeholders such as residents of the Khumbu region, mountaineers, environmental experts, among others.

People might ask if the situation is that grave. And the answer is yes. It is alarming that about 9.5 million cubic metres of water of the Khumbu Glacier is getting lost every year. This is causing crevasses to open up at EBC, which remains very crowded during climbing seasons, especially spring. 

The government wants to relocate EBC to a couple of hundred metres below the existing height. By doing so, it believes both the natural environment and climbers could be protected. Yet, there are other contradicting thoughts. Many stakeholders believe the reason behind such a rapid melting of the glacier is the excessive population buildup and the subsequent use of large number of kitchens, tents, gas cookers and wastes in this fragile area. 

We have known about sustainable development goals and all other development indicators that can help a developing nation to transition into a highly developed one. However, the vulnerability created by growing anthropogenic activities is so high that these goals seem unattainable.

Nepal is already very vulnerable owing to her delicate topography. Existing natural disasters are a source of headache for the government and the people. Tourism is an important source of our economy. But we are gradually losing our mountains, which are a major tourist attraction. This is certainly the biggest heartbreak to us. At that point, not just tourism revenues and jobs but our identity and existence as a whole are at high risk. 

The theoretical knowledge we have gained over the years, as to how human activities prevent the proper functioning of nature, is turning into a reality we truly dread. The Himalayas surely seem to be in need of a break. Finding alternative measures and protecting the distinctive mountains should be our utmost priority. Our high dependence on such mountains is causing more problems than ever. Everyone knows that shifting EBC is not a permanent solution. Rather we are in need of tackling the root causes of glacier melting i.e. climate change which is not an easy process.  Global warming and climate change remains to be a trans-boundary issue that requires collective action. For now, Nepal is in a dilemmatic position– keeping the mountains completely untouched and leaving the economy to dwindle or continuing to exploit the mountains until a limit is crossed. Both will make us pay a certain price. Thus, a careful consideration has to be made. 

Let environmental degradation not create a situation where we have to say that there existed one of the tallest mountains in the world in a small nation called Nepal. Developed economies should be fully responsible for their actions and support developing countries like Nepal to ensure environmental sustainability.