On the 76th day of Climate Smart Celebrity Trek (CSCT), the Great Himalaya Trail Development Programme organised a programme to welcome Apa Sherpa and his team in Dolpa district.

The Chief Guest of the event was Apa Sherpa. The event was attended by the Chief District Officer Tek Bahadur KC, the Local Development Officer Danta Neupane, Nepali Congress CA Member Dudh Kumar Hamal, UML Central Committee member Yogesh Bhattarai and Thinle Lodup Lama, the lead actor of the epic cinema, Caravan.

Speaking at the occasion, Dudh Kumari Hamal and Yogesh Bhattarai welcomed the CSCT team and congratulated their efforts on walking the 1,700 km trail to raise awareness about climate change and promote tourism in some of the lesser visited destinations of Nepal.

During the press meet, Apa Sherpa shared his experience of what he witnessed along the trail starting from Taplejung in the East to Dolpa in the West.

He said, “Climate change has negatively affected the production of cash crops such as alaichi, tea, medicinal plants. Erratic weather patterns have also greatly impacted agricultural production which leaves more than thousands of people in hunger each year.” He further added, “One of Nepal’s major asset, Machhapuchre has been appearing very black due to snow melt in recent times”.

Thinle, the lead actor of the famous movie Caravan highlighted the importance of promoting tourism in Dolpa district. He said, “It is very important to promote tourism in all areas of Nepal to help the poor people. As  the Goodwill Ambassador for the 66th Shey Festival which is going to be held from 28th August to 2nd September 2012, in Dolpa, I would like to invite and welcome everyone to be a part of the festival’.

Dolpa district lies in the Karnali Zone in Mid-Western Nepal. It is still is one of the least developed areas of the country. Crippled by high rates of poverty, limited infrastructure and poor agricultural production, malnutrition rates for children are comparable to those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although the district ranks lowest in terms of development, it is extremely rich in its cultural heritage and is becoming an increasingly popular tourism site.

Apa Sherpa and his team are walking on this trail to primarily highlight the impacts of climate change in the Himalayas and to promote The Great Himalaya Trail (GHT) as the best tourism trail in the world.  The GHT ranges from Darchula in Far West and ends in Taplejung, in far-eastern Nepal and thereby offers trekkers to experience extremely rich cultures, breathtaking landscapes and diverse range of flora and fauna.

GHT-CSCT is organized by Himalayan Climate Initiative in coordination with Government of Nepal, particularly Office of the Prime Minister, The Ministry of Environment (MoE), and The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), with the support of DFID-UK Aid, British Council, SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation), NTB (Nepal Tourism Board) and TAAN (Trekking Agencies Association Nepal). nepalnews.com