Rusty-Spotted-Cat-Conservation

by Up coming Project

Rusty-Spotted Cat Conservation initiatives in Western Terai Landscape, Nepal

Project Highlight

Principal Investigator: Dipendra Adhikari

Location: Shuklaphanta National Park, its buffer zone and adjoining forests in Sudoorpaschim Province.

Grant Support: Panthera’s Small Cat Action Fund 

Team: …

Rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) is the smallest wild cat in the world. It is categorized as Vulnerable in IUCN Red List.  Among 12 other wild cat species in Nepal; it is sympatric with large carnivores in both Protected and non-protected forests in Nepal’s Terai. This species in Nepal needs conservation and research attention. According to the IUCN Assessment information (2016), the current population is decreasing and there is no clear estimate of how many rusty-spotted cats are thriving in the wild. With support from Panthera’s the Small Cat Action Fund, this project will be implemented in Sudoorpaschim Province primarily on buffer zone community forest of Shuklaphanta National Park including national forest patches of Kanchanpur district. The project area lies at the far west plain of Nepal.

The project’s goal is to sensitize communities of buffer zone and people living in the edge of national forests to conserve Rusty spotted cat and their habitats. The key activities of the projects are:

  1. Biological monitoring of Rusty-spotted cat: recording indirect signs questionnaire survey, focus group discussion will be deployed across strategic locations and will be extensively surveyed in hotspot area.
  2. Threats identification: Threats include habitat loss and degradation, depletion of natural prey base, competition with other large carnivores such as tigers, leopards, and golden jackals.
  3. Conservation outreach: Interaction programs with local people, forest and park officials, Community Forest Users, journalists and security personnel about status, distribution, threats, and role of rusty spotted cat in

Himalayan Salamander Conservation Project

by Up coming Project

Project Highlight

Name: Salamander Conservation Project

Location: Eastern Nepal

Target: Salamander, Local communities

Team: Bivek   & Santosh

Himalayan Salamander (Tylototriton himalayanus) is a lizard like amphibian species found only in eastern Nepal and Darjeeling region of India. The Himalayan Salamander is the only species of Salamander found in Nepal. Although it appears like lizard, it lacks scales on its body. The occurrence of Himalayan salamander outside of Protected Area Network where conservation actions for lesser-known species such as Himalayan salamander is a major survival challenge.

Himalayan Salamander in eastern Nepal is facing multiple threats such as introduction of exotic fishes on its habitats (i.e., natural ponds), modification of its habitat into picnic spots or
recreation sites are some visible threats among many others. Due to very few conservation interventions in eastern Nepal; many people are ignorant about the ecological, biological and survival importance of Himalayan salamander. The local extirpation of Himalayan salamander will make us lose an amphibian order from Nepal. Realizing the immediate conservation need of Himalayan Salamander; Nepal conservation and Research Center (NCRC) and Biodiversity Research and Conservation Society (BRCS) have initiated community-based Himalayan salamander conservation project in Nepal. The project aims to outreach various levels of stakeholders such as women; local leaders, farmers and school/college students and help them understand the ecological significance of the only caudate found in Nepal. The project will also gather ecological information of Himalayan salamander in Nepal. Nepal Conservation and Research Center.

Himalayan Salamander (Tylototriton himalayanus) (Photo: Santosh Bhattarai)

Biodiversity Resource Inventory

by Up coming Project

Project Highlight

Name: Biodiversity Resource Inventory

Location: Dhankuta

Target: Herpetofauna, Orchids , Medicinal   & aromatic Plants (MAPs)

Team: Bivek , Rijan  & Santosh

Biodiversity is the totality of life forms in an area with specified time. The biodiversity in Nepal continues to decline at alarming rate specially outside of the Protected Area systems. Biodiversity inventory and documentation are mostly confined to Protected Area Networks and focused on large charismatic mammalian species. The Biodiversity Resource Inventory (BRI) is a collaborative project between Nepal Conservation and Research Center (NCRC) and Biodiversity Research and Conservation Society (BRCS) Nepal. The BRI project will be implemented at Chaubise Rural Municipality, Dhankuta, Nepal and will assess lesser prioritized taxa of fauna and flora. The BRI will focus on cataloguing herpetofauna, orchids and medicinal plants as pilot project. It will provide baseline information of amphibians and reptiles as well as orchids and medicinal plants of Chaubise Rural Municipality area. The findings from BRI will help making future management decisions, identify research and management needs and resolve taxonomic impediment. Nepal Conservation and Research Center.

 


 

Musalee (Murdannia spirata) Photo: Rijan Ojha