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The protected areas of Nepal cover mainly forested land and are located at various altitudes in the Terai, in the foothills of the Himalayas and in the mountains, thus encompassing a multitude of landscapes and preserving a vast biodiversity in the Palearctic and Indomalayan realms. Nepal covers 147,181 km² (56,827 sq mi) in the central part of the Himalayas. Altitudes range from 67 m (220 ft) in the south-eastern Terai to 8,848 m (29,029 ft) at Mount Everest within a short horizontal span. This extreme altitudinal gradient has resulted in 11 bio-climatic zones ranging from lower tropical below 500 m (1,600 ft) to nival above 5,000 m (16,000 ft) in the High Himalayas, encompassing nine terrestrial ecoregions with 36 vegetation types.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Additionally, nine Ramsar sites were declared between 1988 and 2008.^[7] Two wildlife reserves were declared as national parks in 2017.^[8]

National parks

Chitwan National Park – 952.63 km² (367.81 sq mi)
Sagarmatha National Park – 1,148 km² (443 sq mi)
Langtang National Park – 1,710 km² (660 sq mi)
Rara National Park – 106 km² (41 sq mi)
Khaptad National Park – 225 km² (87 sq mi)
Shey Phoksundo National Park – 3,555 km² (1,373 sq mi)
Bardiya National Park – 968 km² (374 sq mi)
Makalu Barun National Park – 1,500 km² (580 sq mi)
Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park – 159 km² (61 sq mi)
Banke National Park – 550 km² (210 sq mi)
Shuklaphanta National Park – 305 km² (118 sq mi)
Parsa National Park – 637 km² (246 sq mi)

Wildlife reserves

Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve – 175 km² (68 sq mi)

Conservation areas

Annapurna Conservation Area – 7,629 km² (2,946 sq mi)
Kanchenjunga Conservation Area – 2,035 km² (786 sq mi)
Manaslu Conservation Area – 1,663 km² (642 sq mi)
Blackbuck Conservation Area – 15.95 km² (6.16 sq mi)
Api Nampa Conservation Area – 1,903 km² (735 sq mi)
Gaurishankar Conservation Area – 2,179 km² (841 sq mi)

Hunting Reserve

Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve – 1,325 km² (512 sq mi)

Ramsar Sites

The following Ramsar sites were declared between 1988 and 2008:^[7]

Bishazari Tal – 3,200 ha (12 sq mi)
Ghodaghodi Tal – 2,563 ha (9.90 sq mi)
Gokyo Lake Complex – 7,770 ha (30.0 sq mi)
Gosaikunda – 13.8 ha (34 acres)
Jagdishpur Reservoir – 225 ha (0.87 sq mi)
Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve – 17,500 ha (68 sq mi)
Mai Pokhari – 90 ha (220 acres)
Phoksundo Lake – 494 ha (1.91 sq mi)
Rara Lake – 1,583 ha (6.11 sq mi)
Lake Cluster of Pokhara Valley – 261.1 km² (100.8 sq mi)^[9]

References

^ Bhuju, U. R.; Shakya, P. R.; Basnet, T. B.; Shrestha, S. (2007). Nepal Biodiversity Resource Book. Protected Areas, Ramsar Sites, and World Heritage Sites (PDF). Kathmandu: International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, in cooperation with United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. ISBN 978-92-9115-033-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
^ Bhushal, R. P. (2010). "Nod to Banke National Park". The Himalayan Times. Kathmandu. Archived from the original on 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
^ Chaudhary, H.; Poudyal, L.P. (2016). Bird Survey of Api Nampa Conservation Area in Nepal, 2016: Report to the Api Nampa Conservation Area Office, Khalanga, Darchula, Nepal (Report). Kathmandu, Nepal: Nepalese Ornithological Union and Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
^ NTNC (2010). Gaurishankar Conservation Area Project (Report). Kathmandu, Nepal: National Trust for Nature Conservation. Archived from the original on 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
^ DNPWC (2014). Blackbuck Conservation Area (Report). Kathmandu: Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Archived from the original on 2015-01-28. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
^ Prasad, Madhav (2016-04-08). "Top Must See Places in Bhutan". Mosaic Adventure. Archived from the original on 2023-06-25. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
^ ^a ^b Bhandari, B. B. (2009). "Wise use of Wetlands in Nepal". Banko Janakari. 19 (3): 10–17.
^ "DNPWC". Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Archived from the original on 2020-02-18. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
^ Baral, S.; Dhakal, M.; Khanal, R. (2016). Lake Cluster of Pokhara Valley. Kathmandu: Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, IUCN Nepal. Archived from the original on 2023-06-10. Retrieved 2024-05-02.