You’ve helped tigers travel safely through Nepal

Nepal’s Khata Corridor has been selected as one of the best forest landscape restoration projects in the Asia-Pacific region. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently reviewed more than 150 projects in the area, and identified Khata Corridor as one of the 20 best.

While protected areas like national parks are crucial for the survival of tigers and other wild species, it’s also vitally important that animals are able to move safely between them – particularly for large mammals like tigers that naturally range over huge territories.

Working with local people to protect and restore these wildlife corridors is a crucial part of our efforts to help double the number of tigers in the wild.

Khata Corridor, which connects Bardia National Park in Nepal with Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary across the border in India, is one hugely successful example.

Covering an area of just over 202 sq km, it’s 31.5km long and up to 15km wide in places. The Karnali river, a lifeline for both people and wildlife, flows through the corridor.

The landscape used to be heavily grazed and degraded, but over the past 20 years we’ve worked with the communities living here to restore it to health. Through planting trees and allowing degraded areas to regenerate, the area of forest in Khata Corridor has increased by nearly 2,000 hectares.

Importantly, we’re also working with local communities to help improve their livelihoods by supporting nature-friendly small businesses, and they’re leading the way in conservation work.

Community groups have been set up to take responsibility for guarding and sustainably managing forest areas, and the growth in wildlife populations is bringing ecotourism opportunities.

The results have been impressive. Around 30 species of wild mammals have been detected using the corridor, including tigers, Asian elephants and greater one-horned rhinos.

There’s no doubt that this has contributed to the incredible rise in the tiger population in Bardia National Park – from estimates of 18 in 2003 to 125 in 2022. This has helped Nepal to smash its target of doubling wild tiger numbers. Figures released in July 2022 showed that the population of wild tigers in the country had increased from an estimated 121 in 2009 to an amazing 355.

Your support has been crucial to making this happen – thank you! Now that Nepal has shown what can be done, it’s time to redouble our efforts to maintain the progress that’s already been made, while supporting other countries to increase their wild tiger populations too.