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| World Environment Day Celebrated |
To mark the importance of the World Environment Day, Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) in association with other tourism related organization celebrated World Environment Day on 5th June, 2008 with a slogan "Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy"
Likewise, Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) also organized 5th Thuraya-TAAN Mountain Bike Championship on the same day. The championship started from Lamabagar, Dharmasthali and ended at Kakani (Approximately 18 km). After the championship, all the participants participated in the tree plantation program.
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| Eco-Trekking Workshop |
Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) organized 'Eco Trekking Workshop in the Destination 2008 for establishing Responsible Tourism' in Kakani on June 3-5, 2008. This year the program schedule was bit different as of previous years. The program was mainly focused as outdoor & more of a practical rather than indoor in previous years. The workshop was participated by Tourism entrepreneurs & other personnel from different fields. |
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| 77-years old Sherchan summit Mt. Everest |
Year 2008 proved to be quite lucky for Nepal. Mr. Min Bahadur Serchan, seventy-seven years old Nepali, set a record by climbing the summit on 25th May, 2008 at 8.40 AM breaking the record of a Japanese summiteers who reached the summit of Mt. Everest last year at the age of 71 years. Mr. Serchan is also an active member of Senior Citizen Everest Expediton-2008.
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| International Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) Day Celebrated |
Government of Nepal, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) & several Travel Trade Associations of Nepal jointly celebrated International Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) Day on 29th May, 2008 & celebrated the heroic achievement of late Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary for their historic ascent of Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) on May 29, 1953.
The event was celebrated by organizing different programs. A grand procession of all stakeholders of Nepal's tourism industry was started from Bhadrakali, Basantapur & ended in Thamel. The main program was celebrated in Hotel Radisson & different parts of Nepal. Government of Nepal, Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) & several Travel Trade Associations of Nepal distributed different awards & prizes to climbers & the persons who contributed in the field of adventure tourism in the name of late Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, Sir Edmund Hillary, Pasang Lamu Sherpa, Dr. Harka Gurung & Pema Doma Sherpa.
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| TAAN institutes four awards |
The Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) has instituted four awards and announced the winners for this year. The newly instituted awards include Sagarmath Award, Dr. Harka Gurung Memorial Award, Pasang Lhamu Memorial Award and Pemba Doma Memorial Award.
According to TAAN, Appa Sherpa, who has scaled the world’s tallest mountain for a record 18th time this year, will be honoured with Sagarmatha Award this year. Similarly, Tripple P. Gurung will be awarded with Dr. Harka Gurung Memorial Award.
Tripple has been nominated for the award for his contribution to promoting tourism in Manaslu and Manang areas. Likewise, the National Academy for Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM) and the Women’s Welfare Group, Lukla will receive Pasang Lhamu Memorial Award and Pema Dolma Memorial Award respectively.
As a state-owned tourism training institute, NATHM has been playing an important role in the tourism sector by producing skilled manpower. And the Women’s Welfare Group, Lukla is dedicated to educating the rural women.
The awards, which carry purses of Rs. 50,000, Rs. 30,000, Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 15,000 respectively, are given to the personalities making outstanding contributions in the fields of tourism, sustainable development, education, women’s welfare, etc. every two years.
The awards will be presented to the deserving personalities on the International Mount Everest Day (May 29) that also coincides with TAAN Day. Speaking at a press conference organised by TAAN here today, its President Jyoti Adhikari said that the awards were instituted to give due recognition to those contributing in the areas of tourism, education and sustainable development.
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| Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal |
KATHMANDU, May 29 - Nepal has become a Federal Democratic Republic from today after the Constituent Assembly overwhelmingly voted for abolition of the country’s 240-year-old monarchy. “I declare that the proposal tabled by the government for implementation of a republic has been passed as 560 members out of 564 present today voted in favor of the proposal and 4 against,” announced meeting chairman Kul Bahadur Gurung after a division vote late Wednesday night. Only royalist Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal members voted against the proposal. Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula tabled the proposal for a republic at Wednesday’s CA meeting. The proposal said, “Nepal has turned into an independent, indivisible, secular, inclusive, federal democratic republic with sovereignty and state authority vested in the people.” The proposal further said that the former king and royal family members shall no longer enjoy any rights and privileges other than those of common Nepali citizens. The CA also instructed the government to make sure that Gyanendra Shah and his family leave Narayanhity Royal Palace within the next 15 days. The meeting instructed the government to make necessary arrangements for the safety of all property inside the palace. The government shall make all necessary arrangements for utilizing all the heritage inside the palace in the national interest including for setting up a historical museum. The proposal states that all constitutional provisions, laws, administrative rules and arrangements at variance with the proposal have been scrapped. A second sitting of the CA passed a separate bill to amend the Interim Constitution and make new arrangements for a president as head of state. Through addition of part 4 (A) in the Interim Constitution, it says that the second meeting of the CA will provide for a president as head of state. The president will be supreme commander in chief of the army and will perform other duties as determined by the constitution. The president will mobilize the army upon the cabinet’s recommendation. The president will remain in office until the CA promulgation of a new constitution. S/he will remain as patron of the constitution and will also abide by the constitution. The president can impose emergency rule upon recommendation of the cabinet. Two thirds of CA members can remove him/her from office through impeachment. The amendment also provides for a vice-president. The parties, after more than 10 hours of negotiations ultimately agreed to amend the constitution and provide for a constitutional president but the presidents’ powers and duties are yet to be finalized. The meeting was convened about ten hours later than the scheduled time. The parties, however, could not finalize the names of 26 members to be nominated by the cabinet. “Another bill will be presented in the near future to bring in other provisions on election procedures and the powers and duties of the president,” Sitaula said. The meeting also declared that Nepal will mark Jesth 15 (in the Nepali calendar) as Republic Day every year and extended tributes to the martyrs whose sacrifices have brought the country to the present stage.
Dream came true: Addressing the meeting before tabling the formal proposal for implementation of a republic, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said this was an epoch-making day in Nepal’s history. He said his past remark—that a day comes once in an era — came true the moment Nepal entered a republican phase. “The dream of the Nepali people has come true today,” the 84-year-old Koirala said at the meeting.
Koirala said one of his biggest responsibilities was now over but another huge responsibility had come upon the shoulders of CA members, a responsibility towards the martyrs, orphans and widows who made their sacrifice for a stable, peaceful, democratic and prosperous Nepal. “We have arrived at this stage only after removing several hurdles, so what we have achieved today is Nepal’s greatest asset,” said Koirala. “So we should preserve and work together not only until a new constitution is framed but also until there is a complete transformation of the country into a fully democratic country.
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NEPAL ELECTION STUNS THE WORLD
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A historic Constituent Assembly Election concluded on 10 April, 2008 in a remarkably fair and peaceful environment with the overwhelming victory of Maoists party.
Nepal has stunned the world. This election has paved the way for the downfall of 250 years old monarchy and feudalism by people's mandate. In the first Constituent Assembly the winning Maoists party will lead the government and for it the Maoist leaders have appealed other national political parties to join in the coalition government for good governance as well as to draft the new constitution as per the aspiration of the populace.
The Maoists party has assured the business community for the safety and full support to run their businesses in this changed political scenario. Furthermore, the party has committed to adopt capitalism in the context of the global economic revolution to bring about economic changes in Nepal and to raise the per capita income of the people.
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Eco Everest Expedition 2008 launches from Everest Base Camp
Climate change is affecting people around the globe, and this is especially evident at the top of the world, around Mount Everest and other great peaks of the Himalayas. Glaciers are shrinking leaving behind glacial lakes with massive amounts of water threatening people and land downstream. The loss of ice and snow heralds water problems for the 1.45 billion people living in the great water basins of the Himalayan rivers. This is the message given by the 11 member climbing team of the Eco Everest Expedition 2008 when they met at Everest Base Camp on 18th April to mark the start of their climb with a traditional Buddhist religious ceremony, called puja. Dr Schild, Director General of ICIMOD, handed over the ICIMOD Silver Jubilee flag to Dawa Steven Sherpa, the leader of the climbing team, to take to the top of the world. A premier of a photo exhibition, 50 Years of Change – Glaciers, Landscapes, People and Resilience in the Mount Everest Region, Nepal is taking place at Base Camp at the same time. The exhibition includes a unique collection of repeat panoramas of mountains, valleys and glaciers taken in the 1950s, and retaken in the past few years. These photographs demonstrate the changes in the climatic, cultural and physical landscape of the Khumbu over the past half century. The exhibition will be unveiled at Everest Base Camp and will then tour several European countries.
The Eco Everest expedition is the brainchild of Dawa Steven Sherpa of Asian Trekking, shocked by his own experience of ice collapse in the Khumbu ice fall, and the realisation of the impacts of climate change. Dawa Steven and Asian Trekking have joined with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development – ICIMOD – and the United Nations Environment Programme – UNEP – in a plan to use the climb to draw the world's attention to the problems resulting from climate change and the need to help the people of the region, and the world. ICIMOD has been working for 25 years for the mountains and people of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas, 2008 marks its 'Silver Jubilee'. The Expedition is one of a number of events being held to celebrate this milestone. The expedition will also field test an ecofriendly approach to climbing, including a ten-point plan that could be used as a basis for international certification for environmentally friendly climbing expeditions. The expedition plans to bring down garbage left by other groups, and will encourage others to do the same. The climbing team is being supported by the renowned Japanese conservationist Ken Noguchi, who is expected to visit the Everest Base Camp. The expedition is endorsed by world renowned mountaineers including Reinhold Messner, Conrad Anker, and Peter Habelar, and is also supported by the Nepal Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Tourism Board, and Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and numerous local, regional, and international organisations.
Parallel to the climbing expedition, scientific research is being carried out to monitor glaciers and glacial lakes in the region and gather information to help communities and develop early warning systems. A six-member research team led by Basanta Shrestha of ICIMOD is already in Khumbu to start the work. A pilot early warning system will be implemented for Imja lake, one of the fastest growing lakes in the region, in collaboration with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and Keio University of Japan. The scientists have already carried out investigations to assess the status of Dig Tsho glacial lake, which had a devastating impact when it burst in 1985.
A Trust Fund has been set up to support development of early warning systems, scientific investigations to help assess risks, monitoring of the melting glaciers, and removal and disposal of waste in eco friendly ways. Every climber on the expedition has contributed to the fund and contributions are now being solicited from interested individuals and organisations.
ICIMOD's new strategy focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change, and finding ways to strengthen people's resilience and support adaptation. Says Dr. Andreas Schild, Director General of ICIMOD: "The changes taking place currently are alarming, and the time to act is now." While climate change is mostly caused by the highly industrialised parts of the world, the effects are already taking their toll in the sensitive mountain areas. Climate change needs global measures of mitigation, regionally focused measures of adaptation, and targeted measures to strengthen the resilience of the mountain people. "We want to build up a system of early warning of risks from glacial lake outbursts. We want to discuss and prepare measures to strengthen the resilience and adaptation of people to climate change. This means livelihoods, conservation of biodiversity, and maintenance of the landscape as a global heritage. Conservation and management of water has the highest priority," concludes Dr Schild.
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| Implementation of Trekkers'
Information Management System ( TIMS )
With a view to maintain the
database of trekkers and to discourage illegal
operation in trekking business Trekking Agencies
Association of Nepal ( TAAN ) and Nepal Tourism
Board ( NTB ) jointly implemented Trekkers'
Information Management System ( TIMS ) from
1st of January,2008.
The trekkers' database will help to ascertain
the number of trekkers in a particular trekking
areas and to rescue the trekkers in case of
emergencies arise while on trek.
Sir Edmund Hillary passes
away
Sir Edmund Hillary, one of
the first summiteers of Mt. Everest passed away
on 10th of January,2008 in his home country
– New Zealand. Hillary and Tenzing Norgay
Sherpa got world wide recognition after their
first successful summit of Mt. Everest on 29th
of May, 1953.Late Hillary had set up charity
trust for the welfare of the Sherpa ommunities
of Nepal. Through this trust he had built many
schools and hospitals in the Everest region.
For his benevolent and philanthropic service
he was conferred honorary citizenship by the
government of Nepal in 2002.
Maoists rejoin interim government
to contest election
The Maoists rejoined the country's
interim government after a deal with the ruling
6 political parties' alliance to end the country's
monarchy and cleared the way for the constituent
assembly election on 10th of April,2008.
Nepal to hold constituent assembly
polls on 10th of April
Nepal's cabinet has set 10th
of April,2008 for election of constituent assembly.
After the election new Nepal's constitution
will be drafted and new political system will
come into force following the downfall of the
monarchy.
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