Apa, Dawa Steven Sherpa plans to embark 1,700 km long Great Himalaya Trail
Famous mountaineer duo Apa Sherpa, who summited Mt. Everest 21 times and Dawa Steven Sherpa, who summited Mt. Everest twice, are planning to embark on 1,700 KM and 120 days long Great Himalaya Trail on 15th January, 2012.
The event has been endorsed by Climate Change Council, the apex body of Government of Nepal headed by the Prime Minister, reported the nepalnews.com.
The mountaineer duo will be accompanied by Saurav Dhakal- British Council International Climate Champion and Samir Jung Thapa- the official photographer of the event.
The Great Himalaya Trail (GHT) is a long distance walking trail along the length of the Himalayas in Nepal envisaged under GHT Development Program led by Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation. GHT is likely to help channeling tourists and pro-poor tourism investments to less visited and under developed districts of Nepal, according to a press release issued by the British Embassy on behalf of the British aid agency DFID and the charity organisation British Council that are supporting the event.
Famous mountaineer duo Apa Sherpa (L) and Dawa Steven Sherpa. Courtesy: Panda.org
The Climate Smart Celebrity Trek (CSCT) is being organized to raise global awareness on the impacts of Climate Change in the Himalayas and showcase how sustainable tourism can be used as a tool for poverty reduction and to build climate-resilience among impoverished mountain communities.
GHT-CSCT is organized by the Himalayan Climate Initiative (HCI) in coordination with Government of Nepal, particularly Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, with the support of DFID, British Council, SNV and GHTDP Partners. The event is expected to earn the support of several Corporate Partners in the days to come, added the release.
According to the organisers of the event, some of the major highlights of the GHT-CSCT are:
1. The Great Himalaya Trail-Climate Smart Celebrity Trek (GHT-CSCT) will traverse some of the most rugged and breathtaking mountain landscapes on earth and will pass beneath eight of the world’s highest peaks. It will start at Ghunsa in Taplejung district and end in Darchula in Far Western Nepal.
2. The GHT-CSCTwill cut through 20 districts in the mid-hills and low mountains of Nepal, many of which have been reported as vulnerable to Climate Change impacts according to the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) report.
3. GHT-CSCT will invite global celebrities such as Hollywood and Bollywood stars, celebrities from the world of entertainment, television and sports, famous mountaineers, politicians, environmental activists, researchers, local and global mediato join Apa Sherpa and Dawa Steven Sherpa on GHT-CSCT. Besides promoting GHT as a great tourism product, their participation will raiseglobal awareness about Climate Change in the Himalayas and promotepro-poor tourism as a potential Climate Adaptation strategy and poverty reduction tool in Nepal’s Himalayas.
4. GHT-CSCT will raise awareness among government representatives, politicians, civil society leaders, private sector, development partners in Nepal for the vulnerability of impoverished people against the effects of climate change.
5. GHT-CSCT will establish GHT, nationally and internationally, as a sustainable tourism product. It will promote the GHT as the world’s highest long-distance walking trail and Nepal’s newest tourism product among travelers and tourism professionals worldwide and highlight it’s pro-poor, sustainable and “climate smart” approach.
6. GHT-CSCT will establish mountain tourism as a “climate friendly” activity, and promote trekking as an eco-friendly and “low-carbon” tourism activity. The GHT-CSCT will be a zero carbon emission activity.
