Rainforest Trust and our long-time partner, KTK-BELT have recently created two protected areas in Nepal’s Himalayas totalling 261,557 acres––that’s one-third larger than New York City. This is the biggest step so far in our joint multi-year, multi-project mission to save habitat in a “belt” from the country’s lowlands, all the way up to the Himalayas through community outreach and land protection.
Newly protected valley in the Himalayas. Photo by KTK-BELT.
The most recent of these designations took place this month with the creation of the Lungbasamba Landscape Biocultural Heritage and Ecotourism Special Conservation Zone, spanning 176,630-acres of high-altitude rugged mountain landscape. This followed our success in September––establishing the 84,927-acre Topkegola Biocultural Heritage and Ecotourism Special Conservation Zone. Both of these projects safeguard critical mountain forest habitat from threats of deforestation from road construction and commercial deve