Landscape Level Conservation in Nepal

Landscape level conservation is a method that considers wildlife needs at a broader landscape
level scale when implementing conservation initiatives. This approach to ecosystem management
involves the consideration of broad scale interconnected ecological systems that acknowledges
the whole scope of an environmental problem. In a human–dominated world, weighing the
landscape requirements of wildlife versus the needs of humans is a complicated matter.

Landscape level conservation is carried out in a number of ways. A wildlife corridor, for
example, is a connection between otherwise isolated habitat patches that are proposed as a
solution to habitat fragmentation. In some landscape level conservation approaches, a key
species vulnerable to landscape alteration is identified and its habitat requirements are assessed
in order to identify the best option for protecting their ecosystem. However, lining up the habitat
requirements of numerous species in an ecosystem can be difficult, which is why more
comprehensive approaches to further understand these variations have been considered in
landscape level conservation.

Human-induced environmental degradation is an increasing problem globally, which is why

landscape level ecology plays an important role in ecosystem management. Traditional
conservation methods targeted at individual species need to be modified to include the
maintenance of wildlife habitats through consideration of both human-induced and natural
environmental factors. Landscape Level Conservation Efforts in Nepal are:

1. Terai Arc Landscape

Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) program has been initiated from 2001 and jointly implemented by
MOFSC and WWF Nepal.

TAL is composed of 14 Indian and Nepalese trans-border protected ecosystems of the Terai
(Sanskrit for "lowlands") and nearby foothills of the Himalayas and encompassing 14 protected
areas of Nepal and India. The area spans approximately 12.3 million acres (5 million hectares)
and includes Nepal's Bagmati River to the east and India's Yamuna River to the west.
The TAL is home to many endangered mammals including the Bengal tiger (of which it has one
of the world's highest densities), the Indian rhinoceros, the gaur, the wild Asian elephant, the
hispid hare, the sloth bear, the South Asian river dolphin and the chital, as well as over 500
species of birds, many endangered. Examples of birds are the endangered Bengal florican, the
sarus crane, and the black stork.
The rivers and wetlands of the TAL are rich and diverse ecosystems with many endemic species
that support, besides birds and mammals, a wide range of fish, amphibians, and fresh water
crustaceans.
However, the area faces many challenges to the wildlife. Of the 14 protected areas within the
TAL, none is large enough, by itself, to sustain a population of tigers over time. If the protected
areas were to be linked by wildlife corridors, individual tigers would be able to move from area
to area, furthering its ability to survive long-term.
TAL is densely populated and its welfare is of critical importance to its human and animal life. [5]
Its approximately three million people are among the world's poorest (50% live below the
poverty line) and generally subsist on the land.
As of the beginning of 2013, the Indian government will give a donation to farmers who grow
flowers in the Terai.
The following are protected areas within the boundaries of the TAL:

 Parsa National Park, Nepal

 Chitwan National Park, Nepal
 Banke National Park, Nepal
 Bardia National Park, Nepal
 Blackbuck Conservation Area, Nepal
 Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, Nepal
 Valmiki National Park, India
 Sohelwa Wildlife Sanctuary, India
 Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, India
 Dudhwa National Park, India
 Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, India
 Corbett National Park, India
 Rajaji National Park, India
 Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, India

2. Sacred Himalayan Landscape

 It spreads from Langtang National Park of Nepal to Kangchenjunga region of Sikkim and
Darjeeling, India to Tursa Strict Nature Reserve, Bhutan.
 Total area: 39021 sq.km. and its area in Nepal is 28,680 sq.km that covers 18 districts of
Nepal.

3. Northern Mountain Landscape

 WWF Nepal launched the Northern Mountains Conservation Project (NMCP) in 1996 in
Shey-Phoksundo National Park (SPNP) in collaboration with the Department of National
Park and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC)
 It covers Shey-Phoksundo National Park (SPNP), located in remote Dolpa and Mugu
districts of Nepal is the largest National Park of Nepal (3,555 km2).