Environmental conservation work in Nepal

Restoration of Biological Corridors in the Terai Arc Landscape
Project details
Geographical location:
Asia/Pacific > Southern Asia > Nepal

Summary
The Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) programme aims to restore forests and link 11 existing protected areas that are distributed over 49,500 km2 in the outer foothills of the Himalayas from Nepal's Parsa Wildlife Reserve in the east to India's Corbett National Park in the west. It is part of the Terai-Duar Savannas and Grasslands ecoregion.

Background
The TAL programme in Nepal seeks to protect endangered species and restore natural habitats by building upon and creating effective partnerships with local communities as resource managers, beneficiaries and stewards. Accordingly, the programme will pursue conservation through the economic and social empowerment of local communities and full participation of resource users and government departments.Outside of these protected areas, "conservation-friendly" land uses will provide sustainable natural resources and economic benefits to the local people while simultaneously connecting core areas to allow wildlife population dispersal and the encouragement of biologically viable populations.In the first 5-year phase of the project (2001-2006), the project will restore critical forest corridors, build up stakeholder capacity and develop partnerships with key agencies operating in the TAL. The programme will utilize various strategies such as community forestry, revenue sharing, and education to restore wildlife corridors, protect biodiversity and facilitate sustainable socioeconomic development.

Objectives

1. Restore and manage 2 degraded forest corridors and 3 bottlenecks to maintain links between protected areas within the TAL as dispersal corridors, through community forestry, plantation, natural forest regeneration and strengthening community forestry user groups.

2. Conserve tiger, elephant, rhino and other species of special concern by strengthening the community based antipoaching operations in the forest corridors of TAL.

3. Maintain and enhance environmental services for agricultural productivity, soil conservation and watershed management that enhance local livelihoods and reduce poverty through community participation, using innovative approaches to integrate conservation and natural resource management.

4. Promote conservation education to local communities and strengthen stakeholder capacity by supporting institutions, developing environmental education packages and conducting environmental interactions. Sphere: Related Content