KATHMANDU: The Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The Never Rest Project Pvt. Ltd. and the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee to establish a research and data-driven management framework for sustainable tourism and environmental preservation in the Everest region.

The MoU was signed on July 20 by TAAN President Sagar Pandey and TNP Nepal Director Frederic Kauffmann on behalf of their respective organisations, with SPCC joining as the third signatory and designated lead for programme implementation in the Everest region.

The initiative will use TNP Nepal's proprietary platforms — TNP+ and EverData — to track and assess the environmental impacts of tourism in the region, including the effects of growing visitor numbers, climate change, waste management challenges and water quality. The platforms are designed to generate key performance indicators that monitor changes over time, with the stated aim of equipping local communities, policymakers and industry stakeholders with reliable data to support informed decision-making and responsible destination management.

The Everest region will serve as the initial focus of the programme, with a broader vision to expand the data collection and monitoring framework to other trekking and tourism destinations across Nepal.

TAAN said the partnership reflects a growing recognition within Nepal's trekking industry that sustainable tourism management requires evidence-based planning rather than anecdotal assessments of environmental impact — particularly in the Everest region, which faces mounting pressure from increasing trekker and expedition numbers each season.