Ban on Polluting Vehicles near Mount Everest in Tibet

China is planning to ban tourist vehicles from next year near the Mount Everest base camp in Tibet as part of its efforts to reduce pollution level in the area, which is regarded as very much sensitive in terms of environmental condition in the world.

The regular vehicles, which disseminate more carbon dioxide, and the vehicle which are normally not friendly towards the environment, will be banned altogether from the base camp and nearby areas. Thereby permitting only the electric buggies, which will also raise the income of the local people of the area, will be allowed. The local people of the area are dependent for their livelihood on their service as the transporter for the adventurer across the world.

Thus Chinese government also plans to employ the local people, who live below the poverty line as tour guides for the tourists and mountaineers and drivers of new electric golf type buggies, which will ferry the tourist and mountaineers to and from the base camp of the Mount Everest.

Wangqiong, who is the Deputy Head of Tingri Tibetan County says, “It will help reduce pollution in the area and raise the income of locals. This area has a fragile environment and its natural conditions have limited processing capabilities of trash and sewage, which must be handled very carefully”. Wangqiong also said that to maintain the area properly and pollution free, a professional cleaning company will be hired and every tourist and visitor will receive trash bags that also will promote cleanup.

According to State-run Media, Xinhua, more than 100,000 people, including 40,000 mountaineers and tourists have visited the Everest Base Camp and nearby area in the year 2017.

About 2.26 tons of human waste that also includes one ton of mountaineering trash and 5.24 tons of household waste has been cleaned from the world’s highest peak since April this year. Another eight tons of waste was removed between the height of 5,200 meters and 6,500 meters above the sea level.

At present, the electric buggies are used in tourist and scenic spots across China in order to reduce pollution emissions. According to Zhang Shangzheng, who is the dean of the tourism management department at Anhui University said, “If local government chooses charging piles to solve the power issue, such piles must be carefully installed at places that do not influence the water or damage the beautiful scenery”.