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Pollution Dulls Nepal's Beauty

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 1, 2009 6:45 AM CDT

(Newser) – Nepal's once-pristine natural beauty has been ravaged by years of civil war, neglect, and corruption, the Washington Post reports. Dangerous levels of pollution now cloud Kathmandu, forcing many residents to wear masks. Even the top of Mount Everest is marred by litter left behind by generations of climbers, and many warn the government that the tourists vital to the country's economy will start staying away if it doesn't take action.

Analysts say that while Nepal's problems will be tough to fix, the country is still in post-civil war transition and environmentalists now have the chance to help reshape the nation. "The environment is a human right and tied deeply to everyday life," says one lawmaker fighting to add an environmental protection measure to the country's constitution. "It's literally the air you breathe."

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (1)]

Air pollution has reached dangerous levels in the Kathmandu Valley. (©symmetry_mind)

Sunset at Boudha Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal (©Wonderlane)

The pollution levels in Kathmandu force many residents to wear masks. (©Stas Kulesh)

A tourist stops before a chorten on the trail to Mount Everest, background, near Namche Bazaar, Nepal. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan, File)

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Politicians thought worrying about the environment was somehow anti-development, somehow anti-poor people. But people around the world come to Nepal, dream of Nepal, because of the natural environment.
- Nepali environmentalist Gagan Thapa

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