Nepal lies along the southern slopes of the Himalayan mountain ranges. Nepal is a beautiful country that stands out in the globe to be a sovereign and a proud nation due to its natural beauty, glorious history, and hospitality of people. It is a country which has Unity in Diversity also has various geographical and topographical features. There is various recognition of Nepal in the world. One of the most important factors of Recognition is Mountains. Mountains are truly the pride of our country.
Nepal is known as the land of Himalayas. It has the crown of the world and it is recognized in the world for having beautiful magnificent mountains. There are 1,310 peaks above 6000 meters of which 238 are already opened for climbing. Likewise, out of fourteen 8000 meters above peaks eight of them, including the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest lies in Nepal. Other seven are namely Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, and Annapurna.
Nepal is the land which has the highest peak in the world and that is Pride of Nepal (8848m). It is therefore called as the Crown of The World. The beautiful snow, the rays of sun passing through the snow offers a scenic view. The mountains are beautiful, so is our country.
Mountaineering is one of the main adventures that tourists spend money on. It is a good method to generate revenue for the country. Every year many tourists come to Nepal for this adventure. This proves mountains are many adventurous people’s dreams that they want to achieve. Our country has made 238 mountains open for mountaineering.
Mountains are our dignity, it’s our identity. However, due to climate change, our mountains are affected. The snow is melting, I say our mountains are crying. We need to protect the beauty of our mountains. We need to find out solutions to our climate issues. Likewise, we should make people aware that mountains are the identity and it should matter to all of us.
International Mountain Day has its roots in 1992, when the adoption of Chapter 13 of Agenda 21 “Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development” at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development put a milestone in the history of mountain development. The increasing attention to the importance of mountains led the UN General Assembly to declare 2002 the UN International Year of Mountains. On this occasion, the UN General Assembly has designated 11 December, from 2003 onwards, as International Mountain Day.
Almost one billion people live in mountain areas, and over half the human population depends on mountains for water, food and clean energy. Yet mountains are under threat from climate change, land degradation, overexploitation, and natural disasters, with potentially far-reaching and devastating consequences, both for mountain communities and the rest of the world. Therefore, this day aims to draw attention to the important roles that mountainous regions play in water and food supply and also urges the global community for the measures to be taken for preserving the beauty of mountains.
International Mountain Day is observed every year with a different theme relevant to sustainable mountain development. The theme of International Mountain Day 2019 is “Mountains matter for Youth“. The theme focuses on young youth so that they can come forward as active agents of change and as the future leads of tomorrow. Various activities are organized on and around International Mountain Day. These aim to increase awareness of and knowledge around the role of mountains and mountainous regions amongst the general population and professionals.
Mountains are in the urgency of protection. So, we all need to find out the ways to control climate change and preserve our Mountains. Mountains matters for all.
- Saru Pyakurel
