Respect nature, taking this as a cue Naveen Mallesh (32) a mountaineer and environmentalist has completed around 200 treks, guided 3000 people and collected 100 kg of trash from the hills of Western Ghats and Himalayas. 

Responsible Trek- Respect Nature and Conserve the hills

To promote responsible trekking, Naveen has founded a startup TrekNomads- a community for trekkers, travellers and nature enthusiasts in the year 2019. He said, “ One of the foundations of trekking is to respect nature and therefore it is important to inform people going on a trek that they should not be polluting the environment or hills. Usually, people litter whenever they go for the trek, which results in an excessive amount of trash collecting in our hills. With all our treks, at TrekNomads, we make sure to educate our team about it and while coming back we bring all the trash with us, which we find on our way. Till now, with more than 200 treks, a total of 100 kg of trash have been brought by us from the Western Ghats and Himalayas.”

“As responsible trekkers, we invariably carry bio-degradable products with us whenever we are going for any trek so that we do not add any toxins there. The increasing pollution in the hills remains a grave issue for concern and with responsible trekking, we have to do our bit, therefore with each of our trek, we try to create this awareness. People have to understand that while going on a trek, you are entering into the tranquil world of nature’s beauty, so respect it. It is the responsibility of each of us to conserve the bio-diversity and make sure our mountains are secured whenever we summit,” added Naveen.

Improving the socio-economic conditions of locals

Apart from enhancing awareness about the responsible trekking by conserving the environment, Naveen also focuses on improving the socio-economic condition of the natives living in these hills areas. He said, “Intending to improve the socio-economic conditions of the locals, I ensure that with each of my trek I involve the locals of those areas for their assistance. This gives them some amount of money, which can be used for their livelihood. I also make sure that as a guide for my trekking team, I communicate to my team about the contribution of these locals in completing the trek, which gives them acknowledgement and additional income.”

Conserving Nature- Hand in hand responsibility

Naveen also highlighted the importance of conserving the environment is the responsibility of every citizen and not just the administration. He said, “It is a hand in hand movement with citizens and government coming together to promote the conservation of the environment. We can see that there is no control over littering in hills and forest, however, it is teamwork and can be done only if everyone comes together. Each of us should have a realization about the importance of conserving the environment and be careful whenever you go into the forest and hills.

Highlighting the encroachment and urbanization in the forest areas as one of the key reasons for the increase of pollution in the environment. He said, “There should be a restrictive rule from the administration, and roads in the forest areas should not be allowed to get constructed. The more urbanization ultimately affects the bio-diversity of these areas. When we are hearing about the fire in the forest area such as the bush fire in Australia, the administration needs to make strict rules for trekking in the forest. It is critical that trekking in the forest should not be allowed after February till the time monsoon arrives as the dried leaves in the forest can cause a fire with human interferences. Therefore, the strict rule should be established regarding trekking from the administration with proper control so that these incidents can be avoided.”

With a mission to support and hand over the planet to next-generation, Naveen Mallesh in the next cover story reveals his startup plans to contribute in conserving bio-diversity of Western Ghats. Stay tuned………

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