Tourism and Waves of Waste in Himalayas
The Himalayas are among the most visually stunning places on Earth. Their beauty, environment, culture, and rich biodiversity are intricately woven together, making them one of the most visited regions globally. Himachal Pradesh alone recorded 1.80 crore domestic tourists and around 83,000 foreign tourists in 2024. These numbers may seem like a blessing for the state’s economy, but they also raise serious environmental concerns, one of the most pressing being the trails of trash left behind by booming tourism.
CLIMATE SHIFTS
This issue may not have been very visible in past decades, but recent monsoon havoc in the state has made it impossible to ignore. A conversation with a local from Dharamshala and an employee of the Waste Warriors Society, which has been advocating and managing solid waste in Himalayan states for over a decade, revealed a growing concern:
“Climate Change is real. Although we are not experiencing the extremes, the shift in the seasons is quite evident, summers are early and monsoons are late; quite erratic.”
DEVELOPMENT VS. FRAGILITY
Tourism and increasing settlements might not seem harmful at first because it takes time for the effect to be visible. But once it reaches visibility, it may be quite too late, we are talking about the tipping point here. In 2023, Himachal suffered ₹12,000 crore in losses due to landslides, worsened by aggressive road widening. And why do we need wider roads and better transportation in such geographical spaces when it is so fragile and not a bustling city like Delhi or Chandigarh? Tourism, migration, and development. These things are not exactly wrong or avoidable but require strict regulations to halt the pace to the tipping point.
Regulations with footfalls may be tricky, but regulation with the habits and behavior of the people can be the key to making a difference. It might not be possible for the government or any organization to look after every square inch and unit of space all around Himachal. Despite stringent rules on disposal of solid waste, like policies aligned with Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidelines, there are still multiple trenches and edges in the outskirts of inhabitants, especially forest covers, that are turned into dumpsites.
A single pile of trash often becomes a magnet for more, turning forests into illegal dump site, and mostly the forests suffer.
THE RIPPLE EFFECT
If we step a little away from the hazardous impacts like leaching, there is another problem of such improper waste management, wildlife suffer a lot, with or without any will. I have sighted many monkeys and even birds forage over the dump sites, and we have tricked and forced ourselves to believe that it is normal because it’s still food. We’re so used to seeing this, but these habits change the entire generation of the particular animal, from passing down ways to forage in the forest to passing down foraging in dump sites to their young ones because it’s easier. It’s like a negative ripple effect caused due to unmanaged waste.
LOCAL HABITS AND LACK OF AWARENESS
We cannot put it all on tourism, local settlements contribute too. All inhabitants create waste, whether it’s less or more. Most people I have engaged with in the villages of Himachal have an easy and quick way to manage their solid waste: burning. It’s not completely their fault because there is no one to create extreme awareness, and they are following what has been passed and seen from ages, just like animals in the wild learned how to forage on human waste dump sites.
Not all do this, but some, and some is a lot to make a change, whether it is a negative or a positive one.
I have personally witnessed dump sites multiple feet tall with a beautiful backdrop of the Dhauladhar range and water flowing next to it. The stench was something, but the visuals were depressing. During clean-up drives, the local leaders came forward, thus emphasizing the need for proactive involvement of the community. That is to say, systemic solutions must run parallel to individual behavioral change.
BEHAVIORAL CHANGE IS THE KEY
Regulations are required, experts are needed, and organizational support is a must in fragile and eco-sensitive places like Himachal. But it is for everyone, in every corner of planet Earth, to start a change by themselves. Behavioral change is the key to every problem in this issue of waste management, from conscious consumption to conscious disposal.
Even small habits, like putting trash in the right bin, refusing single-use plastics, or carrying reusable bags and bottles, can go a long way. These actions may seem minor, but some might follow just by seeing others do it, and that ripple effect goes a long way.
The difference is quite visible when interacting with people who care and have adapted these habits, and those who haven’t. Many times, I have witnessed people throwing trash from moving vehicles, and locals have confronted them and even imposed fines. Some argued, feeling interrupted, but this is exactly how behavioral change begins, slow, steady, and impactful. It works hand in hand with regulations and under the umbrella of waste management organizations and communities.
Nobody can help if the change isn’t within, and if that change is not infecting the rest and inherited from generation to generation. Only then can we keep getting mesmerized by places such as Himachal, without destroying what makes them so special.
Our generation is quite aware and conscious about everything including waste and it’s management but how many of us actually follow simple measures to decrease the impact of our consumption and behavior? How many of us wants to replace Himachal’s snow capped mountains with solid waste?
Author Bio:
Gojesh Konsam is a final-term postgraduate student at the Indian Institute of Forest Management, specializing in environmental management and natural resource governance. He has worked on springshed restoration, waste management, and community-led conservation in Himalayan landscapes.
