Displaying items by tag: Himalayas

A group led by Sunita Chaudhary are repurposing discarded mountain climbing ropes into handcrafted items like jewellery boxes and table mats. These ropes, once vital for climbers but later discarded, are now collected as part of an initiative to clean up mountain waste. Chaudhary, a skilled craftswoman from the Tharu community, transforms these materials using traditional techniques. The Himalayas accumulate vast amounts of waste from mountaineering activities, estimated at nearly 140,000 tons on Mount Everest alone. Government-led campaigns dispose of biodegradable waste securely and recycle non-biodegradable materials. However, recycling mountain climbing ropes proved challenging until Shilshila Acharya, an advocate for sustainable waste management, connected with a local waste-processing business and Chaudhary's team. This initiative aims to integrate local expertise, mountain waste, and the local economy, ensuring that waste collected from mountains like Everest avoids landfills in the future.

Beijing and New Delhi have long been at loggerheads over a disputed border in the Himalayan mountains (see ) This led to massive skirmishes earlier this year. The two Asian powers are battling it out over water. China will build a hydroelectric project in one of the largest rivers in the world, which Indians call the Brahmaputra River. After Beijing announced its biggest hydropower project in history, New Delhi said that its aggressive plans could have major implications for India's food and water security, and would give China power to use waterways as a ‘weapon.’ Indian officials are now considering a rival water project in the same waters, from Arunachal Pradesh to Bangladesh. Analysts say that things could quickly spiral out of control because the two powers have not honoured a water-sharing agreement, which usually governs plans and discussions surrounding new water projects.