Hydro-energy Systems and Tourism in a Context of Global Change : A Case Study in Mount Everest Area

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This contribution aims at exposing the case of a rural energy transition related to tourism and global change in the Everest region. Despite being far-off roads and national infrastructures, despite the underdevelopment of the country itself, the Sherpas, inhabitants of Khumbu, living in a protected area, have managed to transform their valley deeply from an agropastoral economy to a tourism based economy, through trekking and mountaineering. In this tourist system, water ressource is becoming increasingly important, especially to provide hot water and electricity to the numerous lodges built inside the Sagarmatha National Park and its Buffer zone. However, the development of micro-hydropower plants has not yet proved its long-term effectiveness, due to the lack of common planification that has led to a scattering of infrastructures and different management methods. Henceforth, this high mountain area is faced with the growing and changing needs of tourists and locals and with the problem of water availability during peak tourist season. In the context of global change this paper will examine the capacity of local hydro-energy systems and of their social management to sustain the economic development of tourist villages located at different altitude levels and to provide an equal access to this resource to all the inhabitants. This contribution is part of a multidisciplinary research program PRESHINE (Pressions sur la Ressource en Eau et en Sol dans l’Himalaya du Népal/Pressures on Water and Soil Resources in Nepal Himalaya) funded by the French government, draws on four months of field work in the main villages of the Sagarmatha National Park and its the buffer zone during which eight micro hydro power plants were visited and 400 systematic interviews on energy were completed.