Govt to unveil new trekking routes

The government will unveil new trekking routes on the occasion of the fifth International Everest (Sagarmatha) Day on May 29.

On the occasion of the fifth International Everest Day, the government along with the private sector will also organise the fourth Sagarmatha Tourism Coordinating Forum meeting on May 28 at Namche. Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) along with Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) and other travel trade associations will jointly organise a series of programmes to mark the day.

NTB along with the tourism associations will also award people in the mountaineering sector with the Tenzing Hillary Award 2069 and TAAN Award to mark the day.

The International Everest (Sagarmatha) Day is celebrated on May 29 each year to mark the date on which Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa conquered the highest peak in the world for the first time.

Various activities are carried out on this day. The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation along with the private sector will also participate during the programme to mark the day of the first ascent to the world’s tallest mountain.

TAAN along with NTB and other travel trade associations will also organise a procession on May 29. The procession will begin from the premises of NTB and it will be participated by Everest summiteers, government officials, industry leaders and trekking agencies, among others. The procession is being organised in respect of Everest summiteers and to raise awareness about the tourism industry.

During the fourth Mt Everest Day, the government had appointed Everest summiteers as brand ambassadors of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 for the promotion of the campaign at both the domestic and international level.

The government, in its Sagarmatha Declaration, has also tried to revive mutual cooperation for the protection and promotion of Mt Everest. The government has expressed its commitment to form an alliance with all the concerned states including South Asian nations so as to save the Himalayas and the mountain eco system.

It has also declared to expand the coverage of protected areas from the existing 20 per cent to 25 per cent and to also increase the forest area to up to 40 per cent of the total land mass. It has also declared Gaurishankar and Appi-Nappa as conservation areas.

The government has also endorsed the proposal for a contribution from the developed countries equivalent to 1.5 per cent of their GDP in the Climate Change Adaptation Fund.

source: The Himalayan Times,27 May 2012