The protected areas of Nepal cover mainly forested land and are located at various altitudes in the Terai, in the foothills of the Himalayas and in the mountains, thus encompassing a multitude of landscapes and preserving a vast biodiversity in the Palearctic and Indomalayan realms. Nepal covers 147,181 km2 (56,827 sq mi) in the central part of the Himalayas. Altitudes range from 67 m (220 ft) in the south-eastern Terai to 8,848 m (29,029 ft) at Mount Everest within a short horizontal span. This extreme altitudinal gradient has resulted in 11 bio-climatic zones ranging from lower tropical below 500 m (1,600 ft) to nival above 5,000 m (16,000 ft) in the High Himalayas, encompassing nine terrestrial ecoregions with 36 vegetation types.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Additionally, nine Ramsar sites were declared between 1988 and 2008.[7] Two wildlife reserves were declared as national parks in 2017.[8]
National parks
[edit]- Chitwan National Park – 952.63 km2 (367.81 sq mi)
- Sagarmatha National Park – 1,148 km2 (443 sq mi)
- Langtang National Park – 1,710 km2 (660 sq mi)
- Rara National Park – 106 km2 (41 sq mi)
- Khaptad National Park – 225 km2 (87 sq mi)
- Shey Phoksundo National Park – 3,555 km2 (1,373 sq mi)
- Bardiya National Park – 968 km2 (374 sq mi)
- Makalu Barun National Park – 1,500 km2 (580 sq mi)
- Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park – 159 km2 (61 sq mi)
- Banke National Park – 550 km2 (210 sq mi)
- Shuklaphanta National Park – 305 km2 (118 sq mi)
- Parsa National Park – 637 km2 (246 sq mi)
Wildlife reserves
[edit]- Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve – 175 km2 (68 sq mi)
Conservation areas
[edit]- Annapurna Conservation Area – 7,629 km2 (2,946 sq mi)
- Kanchenjunga Conservation Area – 2,035 km2 (786 sq mi)
- Manaslu Conservation Area – 1,663 km2 (642 sq mi)
- Blackbuck Conservation Area – 15.95 km2 (6.16 sq mi)
- Api Nampa Conservation Area – 1,903 km2 (735 sq mi)
- Gaurishankar Conservation Area – 2,179 km2 (841 sq mi)
Hunting Reserve
[edit]- Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve – 1,325 km2 (512 sq mi)
Ramsar Sites
[edit]The following Ramsar sites were declared between 1988 and 2008:[7]
- Bishazari Tal – 3,200 ha (12 sq mi)
- Ghodaghodi Tal – 2,563 ha (9.90 sq mi)
- Gokyo Lake Complex – 7,770 ha (30.0 sq mi)
- Gosaikunda – 13.8 ha (34 acres)
- Jagdishpur Reservoir – 225 ha (0.87 sq mi)
- Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve – 17,500 ha (68 sq mi)
- Mai Pokhari – 90 ha (220 acres)
- Phoksundo Lake – 494 ha (1.91 sq mi)
- Rara Lake – 1,583 ha (6.11 sq mi)
- Lake Cluster of Pokhara Valley – 261.1 km2 (100.8 sq mi)[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Bhuju, U. R.; Shakya, P. R.; Basnet, T. B.; Shrestha, S. (2007). Nepal Biodiversity Resource Book. Protected Areas, Ramsar Sites, and World Heritage Sites (PDF). Kathmandu: International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, in cooperation with United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. ISBN 978-92-9115-033-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
- ^ Bhushal, R. P. (2010). "Nod to Banke National Park". The Himalayan Times. Kathmandu. Archived from the original on 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
- ^ Chaudhary, H.; Poudyal, L.P. (2016). Bird Survey of Api Nampa Conservation Area in Nepal, 2016: Report to the Api Nampa Conservation Area Office, Khalanga, Darchula, Nepal (Report). Kathmandu, Nepal: Nepalese Ornithological Union and Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
- ^ NTNC (2010). Gaurishankar Conservation Area Project (Report). Kathmandu, Nepal: National Trust for Nature Conservation. Archived from the original on 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
- ^ DNPWC (2014). Blackbuck Conservation Area (Report). Kathmandu: Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Archived from the original on 2015-01-28. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
- ^ Prasad, Madhav (2016-04-08). "Top Must See Places in Bhutan". Mosaic Adventure. Archived from the original on 2023-06-25. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
- ^ a b Bhandari, B. B. (2009). "Wise use of Wetlands in Nepal". Banko Janakari. 19 (3): 10–17.
- ^ "DNPWC". Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Archived from the original on 2020-02-18. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
- ^ Baral, S.; Dhakal, M.; Khanal, R. (2016). Lake Cluster of Pokhara Valley. Kathmandu: Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, IUCN Nepal. Archived from the original on 2023-06-10. Retrieved 2024-05-02.