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Eastern Himalayas
Projects
We are working at all levels in the Eastern Himalayas to restore and protect ecological processes, reduce the human footprint, and support local economies. By working closely with the governments and people of Bhutan, Nepal and India, we continue to build on our landscape-wide conservation experiences. We are expanding our involvement with local communities by developing innovative approaches that balance environmental protection with economic development.
Recently, WWF and partners translocated one horned rhinos from India’s Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary to Manas National Park.
© WWF/Joanna Benn
Indian Rhino Vision 2020
Conservation of one horned rhinos in India has been a great success. In 1905, the species was on the brink of extinction. Through strict protection this population has recovered to over 1,700 individuals today. But now, more than 93 percent of India’s rhinos live in just one national park – Kaziranga. The species is therefore exposed to risks such as disease outbreaks and poaching that could devastate an entire population. Human-wildlife conflict is another result of insufficient habitat. The rhinos in Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary, for example, have outgrown the sanctuary and need more land to mitigate their increasing conflicts with local communities. By 2020, the Indian Rhino Vision – a joint project of WWF, the government of Assam and the International Rhino Foundation – will achieve a population of 3,000 wild rhinos in Assam by:
- improving the protection and security of rhinos in all rhino areas in Assam
- expanding the distribution of rhinos over seven protected areas to reduce the risks associated with having a whole population in one area
- translocating rhinos from two source populations (Kaziranga and Pabitora) into five target protected areas (Manas, Laokhowa, Buracharpori-Kochmora, Dibrusaikhowa and Orang)
Preserving the Sacred Himalayan Landscape
The snowpacks of the Himalayan Mountains are an important source of fresh water for millions of people in South Asia and its alpine meadows and conifer forests harbor an array of rare plant life and endangered species. WWF’s Sacred Himalayan Landscape initiative leverages the spiritual beliefs and conservation ethics of local communities to restore essential habitats and protect endangered species such as the snow leopard. We help local communities and local governments manage their forests, streams, soils and wildlife more sustainably. We also directly improve people’s lives through activities such as the establishment of women’s groups that focus on literacy and sustainable income-generation skills. Download a factsheet on the Sacred Himalayan Landscape.
© WWF-Canon / A. Christy WILLIAMS
Protecting the North Bank Landscape
The North Bank Landscape (NBL) falls between the northern bank of the majestic river Brahmaputra (south), the foothills of the eastern Himalayas (north), with Manas National Park to the West and the Dibang River to the east. This landscape, consisting of almost 1,160 square miles, provides a safe harbor for the single largest elephant population in Northeast India. This population is among the five largest elephant populations in Asia. At the same time, NBL's ecological importance goes far beyond this one species; it overlaps the Manas/Namdapha Tiger Conservation Unit and encompasses several WWF Tiger Conservation Project sites.
The goal of the project is to secure the elephant population for the long-term by maintaining habitat, significantly reducing existing and potential contiguous threats, and building professional and public support for conservation of the population and its habitat. Download a factsheet on the North Bank Landscape.
Restoring the Terai Arc Landscape
The Terai Arc Landscape is home to endangered rhinos and elephants, and the world’s highest concentration of tigers. The landscape covers 11 protected areas in India and Nepal and large non-protected areas. Among the non-protected areas are corridors that are critical for the movement of wildlife from one protected area to another. These corridors - or buffer zones - are located around the protected areas, and local communities living within them receive assistance in sustainable use of land and forest resources, as well as up to half of the park revenue to use for the conservation and sustainable management of the resources they have in the buffer zones.
WWF's efforts in the Terai Arc Landscape are focused on the restoration and community management of forests. Other interventions include reducing pressure in forest areas through the use of alternate energy, income generation activities and conservation education.
The tiny Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan offers a unique combination of natural and cultural treasures.
© WWF / Lee Poston
Safeguarding Bhutan’s Biological Conservation Complex
A land of unspoiled forests, cascading waterfalls, magnificent wildlife and Buddhist ethics, the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has few rivals. Wedged between China and India on the southern slopes of the Eastern Himalayas, it is the only place on Earth where the habitat of the mythical snow leopard and mighty tiger intersect. It is also home to more than 160 kinds of mammals such as elephants, rhinos, takin, and golden langurs - a primate found only in Bhutan.The country also hosts 5,500 plant species, many with medicinal value and endemic to the region.
Takin are the nation animal of Bhutan.
© WWF-Canon / Donald G. REID
The Bhutan Biological Conservation Complex can be described as a large conservation landscape comprising all protected areas - including buffer zones within the country. It connects biological corridors, creating a contiguous area of Bhutan's major ecosystems. Presently, there are four national parks, four wildlife sanctuaries, a strict nature reserve and 12 biological corridors. The total area covered is more than 3.6 million acres - equal to more than 35 percent of the country’s total geographical area.
As the only international conservation organization with a permanent presence in Bhutan, WWF collaborates with the royal government to address Bhutan's economic and environmental needs while engaging and raising the technical capacity of its local people through education.
Conserving the Western Arunachal Landscape
Bhutan’s old-growth forests extend into northeast India, where a growing population and infrastructure projects threaten some of the largest and last intact forests in Asia. WWF is applying its experiences from community-based conservation in the Terai Arc and Bhutan to protect the forests of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, restore critical elephant habitats, and reduce incidents of human-elephant conflict.
Learn more about the partnerships that make this work possible.
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