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| Kathmandu Tuesday March 12, 2002 Falgun 28, 2058. |
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Minding the mountains
The problems and prospects of the mountain
regions of the world have over the years come closer to centre stage. Mountain
environment, ecology, bio-diversity, local economies, natural calamities and the often
precarious cultural heritage of mountain communities are all matters of growing concern.
In recent years, the question of peace and stability has also loomed, with many mountain
areas erupting into conflict and violence. The hardships of life close to the mountains
has bred discontent and fuelled conflict in places as far apart as Peru in the Andes and
Nepal in the Himalayas. It is often pointed out that the Maoist insurrection in our midst
has many similarities with the Shinning Path movement in distant Peru. Peace has also
eluded Afghanistan, a country whose destinies have been determined by its rugged terrain.
On the positive side, the prospects of economic windfall from the mountains are no less
noteworthy. In the case of our own country, several generations have grown up with the
collective dream of tapping hydro-electricity from our mountain-fed rivers and bringing in
tourists to take in the breathtaking grandeur of the high Himalayas. There is also a
growing realisation of the potential of medicinal herbs that abound at high altitudes. All
this is familiar territory. But a new sophistication has been emerging in the way we look
at our mountains, at what we can do to them and what they can do for us. We no longer talk
exclusively about large scale hydro-power projects. This is a sector in which smaller has
definitely become more beautiful. The keen realisation that our once vaunted tourism
industry has to diversify has been translated into the development of sub-sectors like
adventure tourism, high altitude trekking and white water rafting. A need is also felt to
preserve intact the indigenous culture of places like Mustang while at the same time not
passing up the chance to earn valuable foreign exchange through controlled tourism
exposure. Concern for the ecological equation along the trekking trails has become a
cliche.
It is against this backdrop that the
International Seminar on the Mountains has just ended here. RONAST needs to be patted on
the back for organising the meet in cooperation with EV-K2-CNR of Italy to mark the
International Year of the Mountains 2002. It has helped to highlight the achievements made
by Nepal in conservation through entities and programmes such as the Annapurna
Conservation Area Project (ACAP) and the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation. ACAP
is said to have become a global model for sustainable mountain development. The
international seminar has helped to focus minds and articulate concerns born of that
greater sophistication about mountains. The ten-point Kathmandu Declaration issued at the
end of the conference covers a range of activities like agricultural practices, management
of mountain resources, high altitude medical research, and eco-tourism in which Nepal is
well placed to lead the world. With mountains occupying seventy seven percent of the
country’s land mass and half its population living in mountain eco-systems, we may
actually have little choice but to do our utmost to excel in these very areas and in the
process set an example to other mountain regions of the world. The declaration also refers
to the need for peace in mountain regions. There is little that such a seminar can do
facilitate peace. But it has immense relevance to other problems such as the conflict
between wildlife in the national parks and local villagers. This particular conflict is
expected to occur closer to the capital now that the Shivapuri watershed is being turned
into a national park also. |
