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 km (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.
Additionally, nine Ramsar sites were declared between 1988 and 2008. Two wildlife reserves were declared as national parks in 2017.
National parks
- Chitwan National Park – 952.63 km (367.81 sq mi)
- Sagarmatha National Park – 1,148 km (443 sq mi)
- Langtang National Park – 1,710 km (660 sq mi)
- Rara National Park – 106 km (41 sq mi)
- Khaptad National Park – 225 km (87 sq mi)
- Shey Phoksundo National Park – 3,555 km (1,373 sq mi)
- Bardiya National Park – 968 km (374 sq mi)
- Makalu Barun National Park – 1,500 km (580 sq mi)
- Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park – 159 km (61 sq mi)
- Banke National Park – 550 km (210 sq mi)
- Shuklaphanta National Park – 305 km (118 sq mi)
- Parsa National Park – 637 km (246 sq mi)
Wildlife reserves
- Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve – 175 km (68 sq mi)
Conservation areas
- Annapurna Conservation Area – 7,629 km (2,946 sq mi)
- Kanchenjunga Conservation Area – 2,035 km (786 sq mi)
- Manaslu Conservation Area – 1,663 km (642 sq mi)
- Blackbuck Conservation Area – 15.95 km (6.16 sq mi)
- Api Nampa Conservation Area – 1,903 km (735 sq mi)
- Gaurishankar Conservation Area – 2,179 km (841 sq mi)
Hunting Reserve
- Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve – 1,325 km (512 sq mi)
Ramsar Sites
The following Ramsar sites were declared between 1988 and 2008:
- 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 km (100.8 sq mi)
References
- 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.
- ^ 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.
