Community conservation in Nepal - opportunities and challenges for pangolin conservation

This chapter highlights Nepal’s successful approach to conserving high-profile trafficked wildlife (e.g., rhinoceros) within protected areas and explains why a community-led approach to conservation is necessary for the protection of the country’s pangolin populations, which occur largely outside of the protected area network. Nepal’s pangolins occur primarily in forested areas, which are managed locally and not by government agencies. Key challenges for successful pangolin conservation in Nepal are presented, with examples of successful case studies from community-based conservation projects across the country. These case studies exemplify the key challenges to pangolin conservation in Nepal and demonstrate common themes related to success. © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Wendy Wright” is provided in this record*

The conservation status of the Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus Bennett, 1833 (Carnivora: Felidae) In Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal

The status of the Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal was assessed by camera trapping and pugmark searches from 2011 to 2014.  The reserve is a highly dynamic and unstable snow-fed braided river system with many anabranches and islands.  Evidence of Fishing Cats was found throughout most of the reserve.  They were probably more abundant on the eastern side, among the islands of the main river channel, and in the adjacent buffer zone where there was a chain of fishponds and marsh areas fed by seepage from the main river channel.  Evidence of Fishing Cats was found up to 6km north of the reserve on the Koshi River but not beyond this.  The population is probably small and may be isolated but given the endangered status of the species, is significant.  The main likely threats identified are wetland and riparian habitat deterioration caused by over exploitation and illegal grazing by villagers, overfishing of wetlands and rivers within the reserve, and direct persecution arising from perceived conflicts with fish farming and poultry husbandry.  Required conservation actions are discussed. </div

Potential Distribution of the Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in Different Land Covers of Nepal: Implications for Conservation

Anthropogenic activities have driven many wildlife species towards extinction. Among these species, the geographic distributions of many are poorly documented, which can limit the effectiveness of conservation. The critically endangered Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is experiencing population decline throughout its range due to land-use changes and illegal trade for food and traditional medicine. Using distribution records and maximum entropy modeling, we predicted the potential distribution of the Chinese pangolin across Nepal. Most suitable potential habitats of the Chinese pangolin occurred in forest areas of the mid-hill region in central and eastern Nepal, followed by cultivated land. Almost all potential suitable habitats of the Chinese pangolin occurred outside of protected areas, and most of them were encroached upon by cultivated land, human settlements, and infrastructure developments. The results from this study provide baseline information on the potential suitable habitats of the Chinese pangolin in Nepal, which helps to develop site- and species-specific management plans and to identify priority areas to minimize the current threats to the pangolin and enhance the stewardship of species conservation