The Aconcagua Waste Management Program
by Ulf Carlsson

August 1997

Argentina -- Mountains have always attracted people. The lofty ridges and peaks have been surrounded by mystical beliefs, myths and stories. Today, trips to the mountains have become a way for the modern and urbanised men and women to get away into untouched nature, feel the powers of the elements and get a chance to recharge their batteries. There will always be places in the mountains, which will be untouched and seldom visited, but more and more of the popular mountain areas and peaks are showing signs of increased impacts from the many visitors. Trail erosion, litter and polluted streams are becoming common problems on mountains like Kilimanjaro and in popular areas of the Himalayas and the Alps and in the mountains of North America.

Aconcagua used to belong to these 'dirty' mountains. Twenty years ago the Normal Route up to the highest peak in South America was well marked with litter and refuse from all the visitors. The campsites were virtual garbage dumps and derelict huts became collection points for litter. Furthermore, it was a bureaucratic nightmare to get a permit to climb the peak. You had to plan for almost a week of forms to fill and slow offices to visit.

Since some time back Aconcagua is in its own Provincial Park, the mountains has been cleaned up and the formalities to obtain a permit are quick and efficient. Aconcagua Provincial Park is an interesting case study, showing how the authorities have understood the importance of providing good services and a clean environment. Visitors are now coming in the thousands from all over the world, not only because it is the highest peak on the South American continent, but also for the good reputation it has now earned.

A Park Warden told me that when the mountain was cleaned up in the late 80s, mules were used to carry out the litter, tons of it. They actually managed to get the mules to the highest camps, which is as high as 6,400 metres. Since then, the Park Authorities have been running an efficient programme to keep the mountain clean.

Today when you visit the Provincial Park Office in Mendoza or in Puente del Inca a small village at the foot of the mountain, you will get your permit in a matter of minutes and then you are briefed on the waste management programme. The concept is very simple;

When you pay your permit (which in the 1995-1996 season was 80 US$ per person), you are given a number which is printed on your receipt. During the walk in to the mountain, when you enter the Park, you have to report to the first Ranger Station you pass. The Warden there will take your receipt and register you. He will then give you a garbage bag and the number you had been given will be written on the bag. You are now responsible for this bag and you have to present it full of garbage at the end of the trip. If not, you will be fined on the spot.

Since most people use mules to carry loads in and out of the mountain, most garbage bags go out on the back of a mule. It is then the responsibility of the mule driver to present the bag at the end of the trip. The fact that the garbage bag is on a mule is noted down in the papers of both the mule driver and the hiker. If the mule driver does not produce the garbage bag to the last Ranger Station on the way out, he will lose his license to work on the mountain.

It turned out to work very well off and on the mountain and I was amazed to see how clean it was (my friends had told me that I will be wading through litter along the trail). You could still find garbage at the different camps - there are still lazy and inconsiderate climbers who do not carry out what they carry in. The Park Authorities still organise clean-ups to take care of such souvenirs by careless climbers and responsible climbers will also carry out what others have left.

The only thing I was disappointed about during my visit to Aconcagua, was the way sanitation was handled. There were no permanent toilets around the camps and people made toilet anywhere. Due to the cold and dry climate and little soil cover, faeces decompose slowly. This made a trip to the toilet a hazardous event and many stones had to be turned. A simple structure could be built and all toilet visitors directed there. I was however told that this was the next step in the development.

In all, the visit to Aconcagua was a very encouraging example on how to manage a mountain with around 3,000 visitors per year. It is a challenge for other managed mountain areas to follow this example and allow environmentally conscious climbers to visit mountains where visitor' impact is reduced to a minimum. It shows how a simple programme can become successful through educating visitors, strictly enforcing the rules and follow-up with additional clean-up efforts.

If you want to know more about Aconcagua, the Park and the climb, you can visit their website at http://www.aconcagua.com.ar or any of the other web pages with connection to Aconcagua. Make a search and you will find a few sites.

Finally, maybe most important of all; when you visit Aconcagua, or any other mountain in the world, support the existing environmental management programmes, make your contribution and tell other people about the efforts. Any programme aimed at keeping a mountain or a Park clean would fail if not every individual does the utmost to follow some simple rules. The most important rule is of course to 'pack out what you pack in'. I would extend it to 'and what others did not pack out'. Help local authorities in their efforts to provide visitors with a clean environment and create awareness about environmental impacts from hiking and climbing.

Have a good climb!

Notes about the author:
Ulf Carlsson, 39 years, is a Swedish citizen living in Kenya since 1990, where he works for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The views in this article do not represent the views of this agency. His main responsibilities are environmental education and training. He is a devoted hiker, rock climber and mountaineer and he is trying to merge his interest for the mountains and his work with environmental issues to promote sustainable mountain tourism. He is also the author of the 1998 article on Macchu Picchu. The author can be contacted at ulf.carlsson@unep.org.

PLANETA.COM GUIDES

Home | About | Advertise! | Books | Central America | Ecotourism | Headlines
Learn Spanish | Mexico | Media | Site Map | South America | World Travel | Updates