Protecting Snow Leopard Habitat Will Help Hundreds of Other Species

Help create a continuous forest corridor to protect hundreds of species in Nepal!

The eastern region of Nepal comprises one of the world's 35 global "biodiversity hotspots." The habitat here changes with the elevation, from tropical conditions at low elevations to colder climate at the heights of the great Himalayan mountain range. This area is home to unique species including the iconic snow leopard, the bharal or Himalayan "blue sheep," the endangered pangolin, and many others, some of which are found nowhere else on earth.

This biodiversity is at grave risk due to habitat loss. Between 1990 and 2005, Nepal lost more than 1.2 million hectares of forest or 25% of its forest cover due to poorly planned urbanization, land grabs, and a lack of viable, economic alternatives to take pressure off of wild habitats. Worse, the habitat loss has caused fragmentation, isolating species from one another and closing off vital habitat corridors. Many animals have lost homes and have nowhere to go.

This is a true biodiversity emergency, part of what has been called the 6th extinction. But there is hope. An organization called KTK-BELT, founded in 2014, is working to build a continuous forest corridor from Nepal's largest aquatic bird reserve, Koshi Tappu, to Mt. Kanchenjunga. This corridor will contain 118 different forest types, preserving vital habitat for endemic, threatened, and migratory species. KTK-BELT will also work to spread local awareness and indigenous knowledge about the corridor, sharing the many important reasons to treasure and protect this unique place.

You can help! Just $12 creates two feet of the protected habitat corridor in the Himalayan mountains.