“Forest and Tree Conservation through ONE DAY, ONE TREE by Hauser Exkursionen & the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation, Germany, Nepal Hilfe-Tirol, Peak Aid Japan, One Tree Planted, The Partners Nepal was a great way to protect areas of sacred land that have lost their trees due to various challenges including livestock grazing, fuelwood use for home and lodge consumptions, timber for house constructions and the Climate Change and Global Warming.”
Lama Geshe Passed Away | Pangboche, October 2016
The initial concept of the tree plantation project, ONE DAY ONE TREE, was developed by a member of The Partners Nepal (TPN) and tested and supported since 2012 by Hauser Exkusionen & Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation, Germany, through Himalayan Trust Nepal. The lama and the residents were impressed with this unique concept that will help restore and protect the mountain environment and ecosystems with numerous visitors who visit this region. The idea of “ONE DAY ONE TREE” shows how science and religion can work together to benefit the environment and preserve cultural and spiritual values. Within Khumbu, there are numerous sacred sites visited by tourists. Among them is the Pangboche Monastery, the oldest monastery in the region. This monastery is the center of Sherpa religious practice and is visited by thousands of tourists annually. In Khumbu, such a program would fit Sherpa’s cultural and spiritual values and contribute to sustainable tourism in the region.
The alpine ecosystems surrounding the sacred lands above 4000m in Sagarmatha National Park are essential resources for local people as they collect shrubs for Firewood, Grazing, Water storage, collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs), Ecotourism trade (trekking and mountaineering). However, the alpine ecosystems in Khumbu and elsewhere in the mountain world have been comparatively neglected by the international conservation community even though they have long recognized their fragility and lack of resiliency.
The environment, especially in the mountain region, has faced various challenges, many of them due to human-created factors unregulated tourism, overgrazing, the over-harvesting of alpine shrubs for firewood, and poor conservation practice, global warming, and the climate change. Deforestation is taken place rapidly over the few years despite the fact they have long recognized for their fragility and lack of resiliency.
The local people are well aware that the area faces greater effects of global warming, which has become a significant challenge from every corner of the world, including the sacred lands of the Khumbu region. People are aware of climate change, and tree plantation is the only long-term solution to overcome those impacts from climate change and global warming.
Climate change makes the fragile mountain environment very vulnerable, threatening the lives and ways of life of poor, disadvantaged, and marginalized people. The god of Khumbu, Khumbila, is causing a flood, and the people of Khunde village are very worried about it.
The Partners Nepal restored the damaged area and protected it from floods caused by mountains that destroyed the natural beauty by planting native trees to stabilize the soil. The Partners Nepal, Engage Nepal, NepalHilfe Tirol (Austria), Alice C. Tyler Perpetual Trust, Peak Aid Japan, and Aero Telegraph helped with this project.
The Partners Nepal and the Tashidelek Buffer Zone Users Group (Khumjung-4) worked together on this project. About 1,100 seedlings from four different species were chosen. These included Juniper, Fir, Rhododendron, and Birch.
The Partners Nepal replicated the successful One Day One Tree project from Pangboche to Phortse village to protect the fragile alpine ecosystems around the Thakri Monastery in Phortse. This was accomplished at the request of the Phortse Thakri Gompa Management Committee. At 4000m, the village of Phortse is in Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality-4 of Khumjung in the district of Solukhumbu. Phortse is a small Sherpa village in the shadow of Tauche Peak. This project was made possible by donations from Hauser Exkusionen & Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation, Germany and NepalHilfe Tirol, Austria, Aero Telegraph, The Partners Nepal, Sagarmatha National Park, Buffer Zone Users Committee, and people who care about conservation.
On July 27, 2018, about 600 seedlings of Juniper, Fir, Rhododendron, and Birch species, all native to the area, were planted by The Partners Nepal with the help of people from Phortse village. The Phortse Thakri Gompa Management Committee chose a place for the plantation where overgrazing and cutting down trees had left the land empty. Much progress has been made regarding the number of people making it. The people in the area were very helpful and cooperative during the planting, and they also bought a lot of seedlings to plant in their areas. From the start, Min Bahadur Rai was in charge of the nursery at Pangboche. He taught and trained the local people how to plant seedlings.
People in Cheskam village in Solukhumbu’s Mahakulung Rural Municipality-3 requested The Partners Nepal to establish a similar project to the successful One Day One Tree project in their village. The Rai lives in the village of Chheskam, which is in the Solukhumbu District in the northeast. It is in the village of Chheskam in Mahakulung Rural Municipality-3. About 3,000 people live there in 700 different households.
Cheskam village is in the Makalu-Barun National Park and Buffer Zone, set up in 1992 as one of eight national parks in Nepal. The Department of National Park runs the core area, and people run the buffer zone from the area. People in the area had also given money to help plant the seeds.
Based on his evaluation and suggestion, the One Day One Tree project was launched in March 2021. Mr. Bheem Raj Rai has worked on natural resource management projects for over 25 years. Since 2016, he has been very involved in TPN’s One Day One Tree project, which he has helped to expand or copy in many other places, including the Langtang Valley. We think many people who want to protect and fix fragile alpine ecosystems would follow in his footsteps! The Partners Nepal and our partners Tenjin Eco-Treks established 50 x 50 meters enclosures above Kyanjin Valley, and we are about to plant 2000 native seedlings found in the area into this enclosure. Many people interested in protecting and restoring fragile alpine ecosystems would follow in his footsteps!
The Partners Nepal launched the “ONE DAY ONE TREE” program in 2016 in Pangboche. The program is designed for tree plantation, protection, and restoration of fragile alpine ecosystems surrounding the sacred lands of Khumbu above 3900m through strengthening local management and conservation practices.
This tree plantation project was made possible with financial support from Hauser Exkursionen & Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation, Germany, as an initial base and later, the NepalHilfe Tirol (Austria), Engage Nepal, The Partners Nepal, Aero Telegraph, Peak Aid Japan, Terra Mater Inc, Alice C. Tylers, One Tree Planted, Sagarmatha Buffer Zone Users Group (Khumjung -4) and individual friends of conservation interests from local and international.
As part of your trekking or climbing experience in the Khumbu, please consider making small donations that will help us protect and restore the fragile alpine ecosystems. Your small contribution will make a big difference in preserving the Khumbu Alpine Ecosystem. It also provides an excellent opportunity to plant a memory of your loved ones and yourself at the foot of Mt. Everest!! We appreciate your interest in the “ONE DAY ONE TREE” project. If you are interested in this project, please consider sending it through:
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