Pasang Yangjee Sherpa, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Lifeways in Indigenous Asia, jointly appointed in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia.
In August of 2024, Khumbu in northeastern Nepal suffered a devastating glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) that destroyed one of the oldest Sherpa settlements and damaged several houses downstream. Multiple families lost their land and livelihood. A month later, heavy rain flooding further damaged houses, trails, and bridges with continual impact to the lives of the people in the region. As a result of unpredictable weather patterns, the arrival of thousands of seasonal tourists in October was disrupted, disseminating the tourism industry on which the region heavily relies. These increasingly common climate-related disasters indicate the urgent need for respite and for approaches which build on the efforts of local communities.
