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| Kathmandu, Thursday May 09, 2002 Baishakh 26, 2059. |
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Belated, but welcome
Long-term economic goals are best achieved if
sound and sustainable measures are taken in various areas of revenue yield. Such measures
should also take into account the possible negative fall-outs and include necessary
corrective measures. Another effective way to ensure success of such measures is to
solicit people’s participation or cooperation in their implementation. The government
has come out with new rules regarding tourism, mainly in the mountaineering sector. As per
the new rule, the government has fixed a mountaineering fee of 25,000 US dollars for solo
expedition, while keeping the fee for group expedition at 50,000 US dollars. This will
retain serious groups in the expedition promotion, despite odds. Opening precious peaks
for all and sundry in the past had played havoc with the environmental condition in the
mountains. The new policy is an incentive for the serious expedition groups. In the past,
many peaks had been declared ‘prohibited’ without properly analysing the pros
and cons of such decisions. In fact, setting up of the control mechanism could have been
more effective to control over-crowding and adverse impact on mountain ecology as its
result. The new rule also makes the insurance cover mandatory. It puts a ban on
child-expedition, refusing under 16 to scale peaks. Besides, the new rule makes it
compulsory for the government liaison officer to be with the expedition group throughout
the authorised duration which will ensure proper supervision of how the government and the
expedition groups and individuals are fulfilling their obligations under the new rules. By
banning a minor (under 16)’s participation in the expedition, the government has put
a brake on hazardous ambition – something that the government as well as the UN and
other international agencies are keen to discourage.
The past two years have been a bad phase for the
country’s tourism industry for various reasons, although it reflects a general trend
worldwide. The Maoist problem and many western governments’ warning their citizens
against their visits to Nepal had the expected negative impact on tourism. A return of
normalcy and favourable new rules will hopefully restore the tourism industry. But the
issue involves doing much more in terms of creating a favourable situation for trekkers
and tourists in addition to ensuring their security. Similarly, piles of garbage, largely
contributed by the careless expedition groups in the past, had cost the government a lot
of time and money to clean it. The new rule, however, does not specify how this malady can
be prevented from recurring. It lacks clarity on what constitutes environmental defiling.
In fact, a clear definition about dos and don’ts for the mountaineers and provisions
of eco-courts and summary trials of those not honouring the obligations could prove
effective in protecting our peaks. But the rule is only a guideline to achieve a purpose.
How best the country can achieve from it will depend on how sincerely the government
implements it. |
