Protecting 6235 Acres to Help Create the Red Panda Community Forest

We helped fund Rainforest Trust UK's

'Creating the Red Panda Community Forest' Project. Thanks to EnviroBuild's customers we were able to donate enough to provide funds for 6,235 acres of rainforest and after match funding this was more than 12,000 acres of previously endangered rainforest in the mountains of Eastern Nepal that we were able to save. Allowing Rainforest Trust and local partner Red Panda Network to designate and patrol a new 430,050-acre protected area for Red Pandas and a variety of other rare Himalayan species.

Sandwiched between India and China, Nepal is the home of the Himalayas, Mount Everest and the ancient city of Kathmandu. The Himalayan mountain range has been recognised as a biodiversity hotspot due to its rich diversity of forested ecosystems that scale the slopes. Rich grasslands ascend into Tropical rainforest which gives way to temperate forest and eventually alpine meadows.

This project aims to protect a site which is vital for the population of the red panda a species quickly succumbing to the threats of habitat loss and poaching. Large swathes of Himalayan forest are being torn down to make way for agriculture leaving behind fragmented and degraded forest. Rainforest Trust is working to protect a pivotal area of the intact and diverse forest creating a safeguard not just for the Red Panda but also the other wildlife in the area. With the help of the Red Panda Network they will form a 430,050 acre protected area that will also create an alternative income source for local communities and will connect 3 other existing protected areas through wildlife corridors.

Like much of the region, the proposed site of the community forest reserve is under growing pressure from deforestation for timber, mining and land clearing for cattle grazing. Once the reserve is established they will be able to protect the local ecosystem from these damaging threats.

The Red Panda is definitely the most charismatic member of the Racoon family and is the focus of this Rainforest Trust project. With its iconic russet and cream fur and expressive face it is easy to see why this species has been a fan favourite among zoo goers. However if action isn’t taken soon the Red Panda will soon only exist in zoos as it is being hunted to near extinction for its desirable fur.

The Red Panda is not the only species that will benefit from the new reserve. The area home to the Himalayan Brown Bear, unfortunately the bear too is suffering from an all too familiar story as researchers have seen the numbers rapidly declining. The biggest threat to the Brown Bear is habitat loss and poaching for the giant mammal’s fur, claws and various body parts. As logging, mining and farming replace the bear's natural habitat the bears have less and less space in which to live and it is believed that it now only occupy a small amount of their original range.

The Pangolin which has recently been in the newspapers due to the booming black market trade of pangolin scales. The scales are used to create traditional medicines across Asia. The Himalayas is such a special region that there are countless species that are only found in the famous mountain range. The Himalayan Wolf, Himalayan Blue sheep and the Himalayan Tahr are all found within the planned protected area and will benefit greatly from the protection against habitat loss and poaching.

It is not just the area and species who are at risk, but local communities too. Therefore it is important that the local communities are not only part of the reserve’s plan but integral to it. These local communities already do so much to try and protect the land, many of the cultural beliefs of these communities hold wildlife in high regard. Not only that but tribal women are often natural resource managers. They will prove to be instrumental in the implementation of the reserve and its success in protecting the local biodiversity.

The proposed park will cover a total of 430,050 acres connecting 3 existing protected area including Nepal’s Kanchenjunga Conservation Area as well as India’s Singhalila National Park and Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary. This will form a giant protected forest that will cover various elevations and types of forest ecosystems. Within this newly formed area the local communities will carry out conservation activities, locals will also be trained to operate as forest guards who will regularly patrol and monitor the area. The patrols will help to stop poaching and will provide an alternative income source to communities who rely on the forest for their livelihood are no longer forced to exploit the forest.

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Learn more about the

projects we have supported here. To learn more about our

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