The Namche Conference: People, Park, and Mountain Ecotourism
May 24-26, 2003 Reported by Greta Rana and Isabella Khadga, ICIMOD

Background: This conference was hosted by: Bridges: Projects in Rational Tourism Development (Bridges-PRTD), HMG’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) and the United Nations University (UNU). Some 50 people representing 13 countries from around the world attended the conference. The two directors of Bridges (Mr. Seth Sicroff and Mrs. Empar Sicroff) were the main organizers of the conference. The programme outline for the Opening Ceremonies is given in Appendix I and the Conference Programme is given in Appendix II.

Recurring themes and interesting papers

A few themes seemed to reoccur throughout the conference in different guises, these included the need to control deforestation and pollution (waste management). These concerns are voiced not only by well-intentioned foreigners representing NGOs, universities etc, but were also by concerned local people. Everyone agreed that since the formation of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee a few years ago the situation has significantly improved vis a vis the management of solid waste. Now not only is there hardly any evidence of garbage along the trail but one also finds neat plastic garbage cans all along the trail and everywhere in town. According to one study the littering problem seems to be more acute among trekkers and illegal climbers than among mountaineers who are given very strict guidelines along with their very expensive climbing permits.

Disposal of plastic waste remains a problem - one proposal (SNV Nepal) was to harvest this plastic waste -especially plastic bottles- to use it for housing insulation. The problem of pollution extends beyond solid waste - one group (Prof. Caravallo et al.) suggested monitoring the quality of the water in the rivers of Khumbu to determine the pollution index of the region. He also warned that the biophysical (both biotic and microbiological) data be considered as a whole with also other indicators both socio-economic and human health.

Both foreigners and local people are also concerned about deforestation. Previous to the formation of the national park the community forest had been managed by the traditional means of 'shing nawa; however, since that time the 'management' of the forest has been taken over by several different groups. Also, since that time, the challenges of forest management have become very different since the number of visitors to the park has put unprecedented demands on the areas natural resources - beyond what was possibly ever imagined under the shing nawa system. The problem of deforestation is being addressed in part by the Sagarmatha Community Agroforestry Project. (We visited a very well run nursery where local people had harvested seeds from the forest and were growing seedlings to be used in the reforestation project. Here there seems to be a technical problem of grazing cattle eating the nursery seedlings.) A dramatic example of reforestation can be seen in the hillside just north of Namche where a huge tract of land had been enclosed by a stone wall and had been reforested - here the trees are doing well and the forest is returning. Unfortunately there seems to be no viable alternative to wood for heating and cooking fuel. The solar energy alternative was proposed by SNV Nepal for making hot water; however, local people seemed not to be too enthusiastic and voiced several problems they had experienced. Admittedly, since most of the days we were there we saw hardly any bright sunshine - solar energy might be a hard sell here. Another competing factor was the fact that since this area had been donated a micro hydro plant in recent years they were enjoying the benefits of cheap electricity and so they were promoting the use of electric heating tanks and other electric appliances over any solar powered devices.

Concerns for the continued World Heritage Site status of the Sagaramatha National Park were voiced by Bruce and Margaret Jeffries (who had been instrumental some 27 years ago in having the Sagarmatha National Park declared a World Heritage Site). They have serious concerns about the park continuing as a World Heritage Site and were afraid that the park would not be able to meet the upcoming audit required to retain World Heritage Site status. Their concerns are based on the ever increasing number of visitors to the site and the demands this is placing on the natural resources as well as the consequences for the pollution and waste issues on this fragile landscape. They justified their position (even as outsiders) to comment on the state of the park based on two things first, that they had been so heavily involved 27 years ago and on the fact that a World Heritage Site belongs to the people of the whole world.

Sonam Gyeling Sherpa (Chairman, Sagarmatha Buffer Zone Management Committee and former VDC chairman) spoke on behalf of the local people whose concerns are centered on 1.) Increase of population from outside and migration of Sherpa population abroad - loss of local language and culture 2.) Unplanned urban sprawl in the town of Namche 3.) Government agencies who are always willing to come and help with some 'project' but who do not ever seem to have a vision for the long-term sustainability of such projects 4.) Awareness of the local people of the need for conservation of local resources.

Many speakers from both government agencies and NGOs all spoke of a need for a 'management plan' for the Sagarmatha National Park. In the discussions that ensued many participants alluded to different management plans drawn up by different groups and agencies. However, these plans were all alluded to in vague terms and seem to be plans drawn up in Kathmandu (without consultation with locals) that no one seems to be seriously interested in implementing.

Education, education, education. If there was one point that both foreigners and locals were unanimous on, it was the need for better local education, not only better facilities but also better teachers and a more appropriate curriculum. Distance learning was also discussed - there were two major proponents of this idea. One was a well-intentioned foreigner (Canadian?) and the other was a local Sherpa (name?) who also happened to be the sole provider of satellite communication in the area.

There were repeated suggestions that tourism in this area be diversified. Diversification was suggested both in terms of visiting the area at different times of the year to include local festivals as well as to diversify tourism off the 'beaten track'. It was suggested that tourists be encouraged to stray off the beaten track in order to experience the whole area and in that way spread tourist dollars further afield in the area and bnuffer zone.

Summary of the Meeting

Session 1: State of the Park:Progress,Problems and Opportunities in and around Sagarmatha National Park
Deforestation,Pollution,and Susatainability
Dr.Khadga Basnet,Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu

Dr Basnet compared and contrasted the state of the Park today with what he had observed in the early 1980s with what he could see today; e.g. deforestation is an old problem that existed even before the establishment of the Park-it’s a matter of degree. Regarding pollution ,in the early days there was no cleaning campaign and the problems only appeared less severe because the number of tourists was less: for example, in 1971 only 642 tourists visited, in 1980 more than 5,000,in 1990 more than 15,000 and in 1998( the maximum number to date) more than 25,000.

Dr.Basnet concluded that to manage tourism in a sustainable way , it was necessary to look at the definition of pollution at the same time. There is now more ‘stress’ on the environment than in the early days of the Park. In developing a ‘management plan’ it is now necessary to take into consideration both the positive and negative issues.

The Phortse Community Project
Tony ‘Papa’ Freake

Mr.Freake subtitled his presentation ‘Let There Be Light’
He began his presentation with a short history of his involvement with Phortse village.In 1989 ,after a most enjoyable climbing expedition, and first visit to the village of Phortse he felt a need to help the people there. He began by responding to a ‘felt need’ to build a hostel for the teachers of the local school ( who at that time were sleeping in the classrooms. Later at their request, he was successful in helping them to construct a medical hall in Phortse which was to be supervised by Kunde hospital.

He was aided in his fund-raising efforts by a group of young mountaineering enthusiasts from Eton College. These young people have not only helped with fund raising but have also come to Phortse to help with the actual painting and construction of the school, which was also provided by the trust fund. More recently the community has requested a ghompa( monastery). This project has also been successfully completed. Future projects in the pipeline include plans to introduce electricity (to help check the deforestation) and later drinking water to each home. Mr Freake concluded by saying that in order for aid to be truly effective, it must be demand driven. The recipients themselves must be active participants.

An Approach to Monitoring and Assessing Ecosystem Health in the Khumbhu Valley
Prof. Caravello and the Italian Pyramid Project Team

Professor Caravello and his team have devised a system whereby the ecosystem is taken as a whole: the biophysical ,the socioeconomic, and the human health factors are considered as part of a whole. Their thesis is that by measuring accessible biophysical parameters it is possible to draw some conclusions about the healthy of the system as a whole. The quantities they have chosen to measure are the biotic quality of the fauna and the microbiological index (pollution by fecal matter) in the rivers of the Khumbu Valley. These indicators show that the quality of the environment has definitely deteriorated in recent years and that there is now a definite need to intervene in order to check further degradation.

Sagarmatha National Part and Ecotourism: A Challenge
Mr. Ravi Sharma Aryal, Nepal

Mr. Aryal outlined recent developments within the park – and defined sustainable tourism as one which gives something back to the community. Tourism has both positive and negative aspects. Deforestation remains an issue – in times past the forest had been managed by a system of local forest governance called ‘shing nawa’. Waste management remains an issue and one which is exacerbated by the growing number of tourists. While there are rules and regulations governing the behaviour of official expedition teams with regards to garbage and other issues – the trekkers through the park remain unregulated – and everywhere one can find examples of poor litter management. Another serious issue is that of poaching – unregulated hunting of endangered species remains a serious problem – research shows that these poachers are not local people but that it is outsiders who run this trade as ‘organized crime’. Another issue is that of ‘illegal’ climbers – climbers who climb without permits and who do not follow prescribed guidelines. More recently the management of waste for sustainable tourism has been taken over by the SPCC (Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee). The Nepal Tourism Board is helping to co-ordinate the efforts of different stakeholders but the participation of local communities is needed since now tourism is their main livelihood and they are the main stakeholders.

S.N.P. A World Heritage Site in Danger or a Figment of a Western Imagination
Bruce and Margaret Jeffries

Mr. Jeffries was involved in the original negotiation to have the Sagarmatha National Park declared a World Heritage Site in 1979 – he looks back now with the perspective of some 25 years and finds that the state of the park has deteriorated to the point where, while it is not necessary to necessarily have the designation of World Heritage Site revoked but where it is now necessary to send up some warning signs. He justifies his observations even as a foreigner on the basis of the fact that World Heritage Sites do indeed belong to the entire world.

Salient Points from Session 1 Deforestation is an old problem, but it’s a matter of degree.
Development must be demand driven.
You can develop a model in order to quantify degradation.
Sustainable tourism is something that gives back to the community.
Waste management is an ongoing issue.
A world heritage site belongs to everybody and this makes it valid for outsiders to make observations.

Session 2, Sharing Experiences : Global Perspectives on Local Issues
Session 2A : Communities and Mountain Tourism
Facilitator: Mingma Norbu Sherpa

Mr. Mingma Norbu Sherpa welcomed the participants and introduced the 4th paper presenter Dr.Krishna Hari Gautam who was to speak in Session 3 and had requested to move to Session 2A as he had to return on the 25th of May.

The ground rules set by Mr.Sherpa were that each speaker would have 5 minutes to brief on his/her paper and then discussion would be thrown open to the floor. The Rapporteur would keep time.

Sustainable Mountain Tourism: Speaker Mingma Norbu Sherpa
The speaker introduced himself as a native of Monju on the border of the Sagarmatha National Park. He was a member of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee and had been awakened to the pitfalls of mountain tourism following the publication of a piece by National Geographic calling Sagarmatha the 'highest junk yard in the world' and the 'toilet paper trail'.

He was presenting buffer zone management as a case study as an officer of the Tourism for Poverty Alleviation Programme.

When the park first opened in 1976, there had been little consultation with local people. Forests were protected and the circa 3,000 people who lived inside the park felt themselves deprived of much of the timber and firewood upon which they were dependent; hence they were sceptical about the establishment of Sagarmatha National Park. Mingma Norbu himself had sent 500 saplings for the school education programme on environmental conservation and had actually had his life threatened. His crime—"trying to establish a national park".

The first warden of the Park was a local person and he tried to revive the traditional Sherpa 'Shing Nawa' or Forest Guardians , and gradually people began to be included in what was going on and began to realise that the Park was for everyone's benefit. Mingma,a Norbu described the programme he worked on and the way it worked through different committees in the buffer zone .Its aims were to contribute to poverty alleviation. it was pro-poor ,pro environment and pro-women. The concept was to establish committees locally, institutionalize them and receive feedback about their interests and needs and through this feedback assist the government to devise strategies and policies for sustainable development and conservation.

The programme was a UNDP-assisted programme operating in 6 districts of Nepal: Dolpa,Taplejung, Solukhumbhu ,Rasuwa,Lumbini and Chitwan. Mr. Sherpa advised participants to look at the brochure he had provided.

Curriculum Development at Boitekong,Volunteer Work and Tourism:
Prof Ray Basson, South Africa

The speaker introduced his case study as one of human capital development related to tourism in a squatters' community in South Africa. I

n South Africa many informal squatter communities grew up around cities and people thought of them traditionally as breeding grounds for violence, criminal activities, and unemployment. This was a case of one community that went against the orthodox view of such communities. Through the work carried out the Boitekong community managed to raise 20 million rand to purchase the land they were squatting on, which was next to the Misssion of Jean Baptiste La Salle. Although they till lived as squatters they managed to build 3 schools and a community college.

The methodology consisted of 15 years of trust building through establishment of different groups that could express their 'felt needs' and which then led to action. Professor Basson described this as curriculum development in the sense of what people could do or were capable of doing once they were freed of economic and other constraints. He saw curriculum development as a natural process: meeting together to discuss what they wanted and then deciding upon a strategy through which to realise the same. People were trained in cultural production in order to produce outputs for tourism and proceeds raised had led to establishment of a creche ,clinics, and a hospice for AIDS victims. Through these methods, in Africa, ordinary people become exceptional, and this is strongly related to democracy and democratic practice.

Struggle for Community-based Conservation and Eco-tourism in Nanda Devi Birosphere Reserve, Speakers Dr. Sunil; Kainthola,Mr.Dhan Singh Rana and Mrs Pratibha Naithani

The Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in Uttaranchal has a number of small organisations known as Janadhar working to address critical development issues . The organisation called Alliance for Development is an advocacy group and its concerns are trafficking of women, forestry conflicts, food adulteration, and so forth. Nanda Devi is one area and Mr.Dhan Singh Rana has been working for 20 years to restore the traditional rights over the forests and their natural resources to the people of the area. Nanda Devi is in Chamoli , next to Tibet (TAR,China). The traditional inhabitants are the Bhutia. It was originally notified in 1939 and they lived on herding and trade between the area and Tibet. However in 1962 trade with tibet closed and the traditional economy collapsed. In 1982 it became a national park and this had a further adverse affect on the economy, and finally in 1993 it became part of the MAB programme and was proclaimed a World Heritage Site, as is Sagarmatha National Park.

The movement to reclaim the people's rights is focusing on regulated tourism based on building community capacity in tourism, strengthening the mechanism for capacity building.

The principal issue they see is "If landscape is a product – who owns it? isn't the landscape a common property resource of the indigenous people? "

Mountaineers as Ambassadors for Tourism in Nepal, Speaker: Dr.Krishna Hari Gautam

The speaker explained that he was a Forester by profession. His interest in Ecotourism and his travel for study in New Zealand and later Japan led him to write this case study on mountaineers as ambassadors for Nepalese tourism. He recounted his experiences in New Zealand where streets were named not only after Hillary, but also after Tensing Norgay and Everest itself. It was a revelation to realise how many people knew about Nepal through the mountaineering experience. Later in Japan he heard a lecture by Junko Tabei on her mountaineering feat and felt that mountaineers are excellent ambassadors for tourism in Nepal.

This led Dr.Gautam to surf the internet and he presented his statistics to the floor. They are as follow.

He received 4 million links to Nepal and 285,000 links to 29 sites about Nepal. Of these 85% were related to tourism, out of which 98% were related to mountaineering and only 14% to embassies of Nepal. Mt.Everest itself was the focus of many links.

Mr.Sherpa thanked the speakers for their input and opened discussion to the floor.

Questions and Answers Session 2a

Mr. Neinhuys and Mr Freake posed questions to Professor Basson.

Q. As an organisation for development, don't you think school curricula should be related to the particular area?

A. They are, but in the beginning one has to provide an institution for instruction, curriculum comes afterwards. The curriculum can be localised but first we focused on cultural goods, tying education with production. The first years use a local curriculum, but afterwards that feeds into the national curriculum.

Q.In Phortse the children speak Sherpa as their mother tongue. However the teachers speak Nepali-shouldn't instruction be in the mother tongue?

A.In South Africa there are 12, 13 languages and it is the law that children should be instructed in their own language. However after 5 years, communities prefer to be taught in English as a language of universal communication.

There were several questions for Mr.Mingma Norbu Sherpa from Hikmat, Greta and Alka, and these were presented collectively and answered as a group of questions with a similar focus. The questions were the following.

The Sagarmatha National Park covers the Chaurikharkha District- 3 VDCs of Solukhumbhu, since national park money is only used in 34 VDCs , how do you motivate the other 12 VDCs?

Is there any private sector collaboration?

What about governance, is there decentralisation from the national government and is tax gathering localised? How much of the proceeds from the NP go to buffer zone management or directly to the community?

Isn't there a need for trade-offs in tourism, in regard to culture who determines what stays to attract tourists and what goes as culture is dynamic not static? Do people have to maintain inconvenient lifestyles to attract tourists (an example of how to handle cultural tourism was given as Upper Canada Village).Who maintains cultures for the sake of tourism and who pays the price?

What is and should be the extent of government responsibility?

These questions led to lively discussion in which other participants engaged.

A.Mr. Sherpa said that there was no provision in law for using the NP funding for other VDCs outside the national park. There was then some discussion about how they ought to be engaged and to benefit. It was mentioned that they had access to funds through the Local Self Governance Act.

Regarding private sector collaboration, most of the tourism Sherpa families handled business in Khumbhu and they were private entrepreneurs.

The UNDP Quality Tourism project had been involved in helping set up lodge and porters' committees etc. This was the project that had led to the establishment of the Nepal Tourism Board and had a focus of institutionalizing sustainable tourism models. Institutional modalities were guided by the Tourism Acts.

Mingma described the process prepared by UNDP for Buffer Zone Management through different committees. Some participants thought them quite tortuous and complicated. Management regulations ought to be more straightforward.

Mingma rejoined that they had prepared a 5-year buffer zone management plan of their own. If the government endorses this before July then 50% of the proceeds from the NP will come to the BZMP.

Sonam and Ang Dorje mentioned that 70% would be used for management and 30% for projects promoted by the different committees under the BZMP.

Q. The Nanda Devi team were asked to respond to some of the questions raised in respect to their work.

A. They replied that they weren't interested in simply promoting tourism, but in offering a diversified package in ecotourism. They didn't want to create new institutions. There were so many NGOs that sometimes in a village of only 40 families one could find 15 new institutions. Their wish was to align with traditional management institutions.

A Nanda Devi Ecotourism Authority was to be established and representation would be 80% from the community, 10% from the government and 10% from resource institutions.

Sunil commented about the private sector:

" We don't want to open the area for travel agents from the cities. The community will own it, and manage it."

When asked how they would market it, he replied that it required niche marketing. "Travel agents outside only give us garbage and porterage."

In concluding there was a lot of general discussion about this idea of niche marketing. It was noted that SNP had been established in 1976 and it became a World Heritage Site because of not only Mt. Everest but because of the natural and cultural assets it had. In spite of this 98% of the tourism was related to mountaineering and seeing Mt.Everest. Perhaps more proactive niche marketing should be undertaken in village tourism.The examples of Ghalegaon and Syrubari were cited by Hikmat.

Margaret thought that if Everest disappeared people would still visit the hole in the ground where it had been and Bruce remarked upon the draw that icons had, citing his own visit to Jellystone National Park. However idealistic we would like to be, still icons had their use. People who returned a second or third time often widened their scope.

There was some discussion on equity. Participants were worried about the equal spread of benefits and how this could be effected. Emphasis was often on protection and not on an equal spread of resources.

Mingma said that this could only be effected by bottom up planning and agreed that there were other groups that had contributed but which were not taken into account, because of the way the laws were written.

Alka asked about public private partnership and Mingma said that through Community Organisations every household was involved in the park.

Bruce wondered if "the values of the park are not pushed aside while one deals with management issues."

The response was that all the committees were only established to protect and serve the park. Even within the Park it should be remembered that 30% of households were still poor. It was thought this was changing with a change from top down to bottom up management.

The session concluded with a statement by Dhan Singh Rana in Hindi.

" All of you are here from so many different countries. Usually an elite club of intellectuals decides upon the fates of tribals and ethnic groups living in parks and protected areas. A few people sitting often quite far away take it upon themselves to decide what our destiny should be. We should give the people of the parks the right to determine their own destinies."

The session concluded with a summation of the presentations and discussion. The Facilitator thanked the participants and closed the session.

Salient points from 2a

If landscape is a product – who owns it? Paying for green spaces.

When you have a part the regulations should come from the people themselves and that they should be straightforward and that the people themselves should handle them.

Nanda Devi people said that they do not want travel agents to control the tourist traffic – all travel agents give is garbage and porterage.

More proactive niche marketing should be undertaken in village tourism – eg. Ghalegaon, and Syrubari I

cons have their use

People who return to a venue often widen their scope – we have to take advantage of that.

Session 2b

Natural Resources – Impact and Management

The session facilitator Dr. Pema Gyamtsho set the tone for the session by reiterating that natural resources are at the core of all of the issues being discussed in this conference. Natural resources make possible tourism, the energy sector, and ultimately form the environment.

The Pyramid: A Unique Facility for High Altitude Research
Mr. Verza, Pyramid Project and Dr. Dinesh Bhuju, RONAST, Nepal

The first speaker Dr. Dinesh Bhuju (Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, Kathmandu, Nepal). The Pyramid is a unique facility for high altitude research supported by Ev-K2-CNR, Italian National Research Council. Dr. Bhuju began his presentation by revisiting the history of the Pyramid Research Laboratory, and highlighting its long standing collaboration with Nepali scientists through RONAST. The idea came about when Dr. Dezio (a renowned Italian Geologist and Scientist who had worked on K2, and who had been one of the scientists to recommended the formation of the Sagarmatha National Park) had a vision to establish a semi-permanent facility to collect scientific data at high altitudes as temporary camps were just not sufficient for this purpose. The building was completed in 1989 and since that time the Pyramid has become a main international cornerstone of high altitude and remote area scientific research. The Pyramid Research laboratory houses many unique scientific facilities; facilities are available for the study of: environmental and climatic change, medicine and human physiology in remote conditions, geology, geophysics and seismic studies, flora fauna and high altitude biology, hydro biology, and paleolimnology, and anthropology and ethnographic studies, clean technologies and environment management systems. Since its inception it has housed over 500 missions of international scientist who have produced over 889 scientific publications.

Dr. Bhuju’s talk ended with a reminder to all present that this unique facility is available to all the bonafide researchers free of charge and extended a welcome to all.

G.P. Verza who is the Chief Engineer of the Pyramid research building gave the second part of the presentation. Mr. Verza, himself a summiteer, has been involved with this project since its inception. The Pyramid Laboratory houses a GPS Master Station which can help climbers identify altitudes in the vicinity to within one metre, and with some additional inputs even to within a few centimeters. It also houses other unique facilities which can be used to study human physiology and conduct studies on the human immune system. Mr. Verza emphasized the importance of communication. On many occasions the Pyramid Laboratory has also offered critical medical assistance to climbers in danger and here the key has always been effective communication facilities.

The Future of Livestock in the High Himalayan Region
Dr. Pema Gyamtsho, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu Nepal

Dr. Pema Gyamtsho (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu Nepal). Dr. Gyamtsho emphasized the importance of livestock to the whole Himalayan region. Livestock provides a range of socioeconomic services, it converts otherwise unusable resources into usable goods and has a vital role to play in the environmental health of the whole region. Livestock can not be underestimated; it features in social, cultural and religious beliefs and practices as well as providing needed goods and services. Livestock determines the special and temporal distribution of vegetation and determines the diversity of bioculture. While managed grazing can be beneficial for the environment as a whole uncontrolled overgrazing can have catastrophic consequences.

The emerging challenges include a decreasing interest in pastoral life style and threats from globalization. Possible opportunities can be explored by integrating livestock with tourism and culture and in this way keeping livestock as an integral part of the biosystem. The main concept here is to exploit the ecotourism market by bringing tourists to the yaks and yak herders. Dr. Gyamtcho concluded by stating that livestock will continue to be important in this region and that there is a need to deliver an approach which is inclusive.

Impact of Cattle Treading Hill Pasture
Dr. Tara Nath Pandey (Palmerston North, New Zealand).

Dr. Pandey reminded the audience that cattle can cause damage not only by over grazing pastures but by treading on them. Cattle hoofs can cause pitting which leads to degradation of vegetation and eventually soil erosion. The most severe damage occurs when cattle tread on delicate water logged soils. Dr. Pandey went on to discuss what could be done to limit the damage. These included different strategies to maximize the effects of grazing and number of cattle while minimizing the effects on wet rangelands and pastures.

Historical Research on Revegetation in the Alpine Region in Japan
Mr. Kazuya Kurita (Tokyo University of Agriculture).

Mr. Kurita discussed different examples of the revegetation process in several of Japan’s national parks. The problems here are quite different from those encountered in the Himalayas because while even their highest peaks are only about 3500 metres the number tourist they house annually is considerably greater. Mr. Kurita gave the example of Mt. Fuji National Park, which annually receives over a hundred million visitors. It is only two hours drive from Tokyo a large urban center and it is only a two-hour climb to the top. Under the heavy pressures of this large number of tourists, the trails have been seriously eroded. An additional complication that leads to soil erosion is the very heavy annual rainfall (over 3000 mm/yr). Over the past 14 years there has been a serious interest among mountain enthusiasts and youth group volunteers to rehabilitate these areas. Mr. Kurita showed several graphic examples where successful revegetation had taken place through mulching and other techniques implemented by the efforts of youth volunteers.

The Role of Local Communities in Natural Resource Management
Ms. Janita Gurung and Mr. Rajendra Gurung (WWF-Nepal).

Ms. Gurung discussed how buffer zones create opportunities for local communities to be involved in the management of national parks and their related resources. The pressures that exist on forests included in national parks have been passed on to the forest areas directly outside the park and are effecting the livelihoods of the people who live there. These people need to have a voice in the decision making process since park policies also indirectly affect them. She gave the specific example of the formation of the Sagarmatha National Park Buffer Zone which was created in 2002. Mr. Rajendra Gurung who was personally involved in discussions with 28 different community groups in this buffer zone discussed the organizational structure. The community groups themselves have been involved in different aspects of the planning including: conservation – efforts such as nurseries, sustainable tourism management, awareness generation, development needs of the communities. The result has been that the communities themselves have developed a five-year overview plan with a one-year operational plan. The creation of this buffer zone affirms that local communities are the real managers of the forest natural resources.

The Best Way of Viewing Garbage
Mr. Beau Beza (Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning, Victoria, Australia).

Mr. Beza has been observing (and documenting) garbage within the Sagarmatha National Park and people’s behaviour and responses to different issues of waste disposal. The problem of waste ranges from the occasional candy wrapper forgotton along the trail to garbage heaps near small urban areas to garbage left by mountaineers at high altitudes. Mr. Beza interviewed both Western tourists (mostly Australians) as well al local Sherpas. In the worst instances the Australian respondents argued that the garbage problem was created by a lack of education by local people on how to deal with it while the Sherpas interpreted the garbage problem as other people’s fault. In the best instances (where garbage is managed properly in designated pits and in garbage cans) both sets of respondents agreed that the situation was indeed under proper control.