Human-wildlife conflict is a major issue for many poor people who live near forests in rural areas of Nepal. That’s one of the reasons why WWF and other partners in conservation launched the Hariyo Ban (Green Forest) program to find lasting solutions that protect people’s lives, livestock and crops and prevent the retaliatory killing of wildlife.
WWF and partners have launched a program to reduce pressure on forests and improve the lives of women and marginalized people through projects such as providing improved cook stoves that burn firewood more efficiently.
Snow leopards scale the great, steep slopes of mountains in Central Asia with ease, blending into the landscape. But these endangered cats face many threats including habitat loss, reduced prey and retaliatory killings. WWF works to reduce human-leopard conflict and protect the fragile snow leopard habitat.
In herding communities in the Nepalese mountains, snow leopards were not considered beautiful creatures that needed protecting. To these communities, they were a direct threat that needed to be eliminated. Thankfully, after working together with conservationists and WWF-Nepal to find a solution to these problems, the communities have taken on ownership of the efforts to protect snow leopards.
Three years ago, researchers from WWF-Mongolia set up camera traps to photograph snow leopards in and around Khovd Aimag’s Jargalant Khairkhan Mountain, located in western Mongolia’s Altai Mountains, to determine the elusive cat’s population size and distribution.
Nepal marked two consecutive years since its last rhino was poached on May 2, 2014. This exceptional success is a result of a combination of high-level political will and government entities, and the active involvement of conservation communities.
Last April, Nepal experienced a devastating earthquake, resulting in a tragic loss of life and damage. But the people of this small and beautiful country are pushing forward with remarkable resilience. They’ve also taken care to consider the environment during the rebuilding period.
Species like red pandas, Bengal tigers, blue sheep, Argali wild sheep, and ibex are found in Asia high mountains. Learn more about the Asia high mountains and the work that WWF is doing to protect them.
Urgent international action must be taken in the face of climate change to save the snow leopard and conserve its fragile mountain habitats that provide water to hundreds of millions of people across Asia.
A sneezing monkey, a walking fish and a jewel-like snake are just some of a biological treasure trove of over 200 new species discovered in the Eastern Himalayas in recent years, according to a new report by WWF.
Overlapping heavily with snow leopard habitat, the Third Pole encompasses the snow-covered mountains surrounding the Tibetan Plateau. The Pole’s thousands of glaciers and regular snow melt form the headwaters for 10 of Asia’s biggest rivers, which bring drinking water, power and irrigation directly to 210 million people, while these river basins indirectly support more than 1.3 billion people.
Since becoming a WWF global ambassador, Andy Murray has been particularly passionate about raising awareness for WWF’s initiative in Nepal that supports the training and use of sniffer dogs to help track down, apprehend and deter poachers in and around Chitwan National Park.
In February 2015, Nepal will host the first symposium focused on getting to zero poaching. Delegates from more than 13 Asian countries representing conservation agencies, police and prosecution services will share best practices, tools and technologies that can be used to respond to the poaching crisis.
A one-horned rhinoceros was successfully collared in Nepal late last month. The event was particularly significant because it occurred in a wildlife corridor that connects Nepal’s Bardia National Park with India’s Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary.