A mosaic of landscapes

Arching across Nepal, the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, Bhutan, Northeastern India and Myanmar, the Eastern Himalayas is home to some of the most spectacular yet fragile, unique and threatened assemblages of flora, fauna and ecosystems in the world.
The region comprises of Eastern Himalayan Broadleaf and Conifer Forests, Eastern Himalayan Alpine Meadows, Terai-Duar Savannas and Grasslands, and Brahmaputra Freshwater ecoregions.

Within these ecoregions WWF has identified 6 landscapes as priorities: the Terai Arc (transboudary); the Sacred Himalaya (transboundary); B2C2 (Bhutan); Western Arunanchal (India); North Bank (India); and Kaziranga Karbi Anglong (India).

WWF's Living Himalayas Initiative works within the area spanning these landscapes in Bhutan, India and Nepal.
/ ©: WWF
Eastern Himalayas ecoregion complex map
© WWF

The Terai Arc

Covering 14 Protected Areas in India and Nepal, the Terai Arc Landscape is home to the endangered tigers and elephants and vulnerable rhinos. It is one of only two places in the world where these large threatened mammals coexist.

WWF’s efforts to protect the Terai Arc are focused on the restoration and community management of forests. Other activities include reducing pressure in forest areas through the use of alternative energy as well as strengthening anti-poaching measures and reducing human-wildlife conflicts.
/ ©: WWF-Nepal
Terai Arc Landscape
© WWF-Nepal

The Sacred Himalayas

The Sacred Himalayan Landscape covers an area of 39,021 square kilometers, of which about 74% falls in Nepal, 25% falls in Sikkim of India and the remaining falls in Bhutan.

It extends from Langtang National Park in central Nepal through the Kangchenjunga region in Sikkim and Darjeeling in India to Toorsa Strict Nature Reserve in western Bhutan.

Th transboundary conservation area boasts a mosaic of habitats – from broadleaf and conifer forests to alpine meadows to high altitude freshwater lakes, springs and rivers. The area is also home to diverse peoples and cultures.

WWF is working to safeguard the biological and cultural treasures of the world’s highest sacred mountains and deepest valleys, while protecting local people’s rights over resources and sustaining and enhancing livelihoods.
/ ©: WWF
Sacred Himalayan Landscape
© WWF

Bhutan biological conservation complex (B2C2)

Covering over 50% of the country, Bhutan’s Biological Conservation Complex is a network of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, nature reserves and biological corridors that allows tigers, snow leopards, rhinos and other wildlife to move between Protected Areas.

WWF works closely with the Government of Bhutan and other partners to address conservation threats, including deforestation, poaching, overgrazing and human-wildlife conflict, impacting on the Complex.
/ ©: WWF Bhutan
Map of Protected Areas in Bhutan
© WWF Bhutan

The North bank and Kaziranga-Karbi anglong

Located in the foothills of the Himalayas of northeast India, the North Bank Landscape’s lush evergreen forests and grasslands are home to extraordinary wildlife: tigers, rhinos and one of the region’s largest populations of elephants. It is also a region populated by millions of people, including many distinct tribal communities.

On the south side of the mighty Brahmaputra River lies the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape, with 70% of the world’s greater one-horned rhinos and densest populations of tigers. Kaziranga National Park, along with the connecting Karbi-Anglong Hills, is one of the few places on Earth where one finds such a diverse range of large mammals: tigers, elephants, rhinos, wild buffaloes and swamp deer. Of the 500 bird species in Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong, 25 are globally threatened.
/ ©: WWF AREAS
Bordering India’s mighty Brahmaputra River in the south and the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in the north, the North Bank Landscape encompasses about 14,000km2 in the northeastern Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. This area is home to as many as 3,000 Asian elephants — up to 10 per cent of the species’ total population.
© WWF AREAS

Kangchenjunga Conservation Area

Covering an area of 2,035km2, the Kangchenjunga Conservation Area in the northeast corner of Nepal near the border with India and Tibet is known for its alpine meadows, high-altitude wetlands, glaciers and high peaks.

Named after Mt Kangchenjunga (8586m) - the third highest in the world - the region is home to rich biodiversity that includes red panda, snow leopard, grey wolf, Himalayan black bear, Himalayan tahr (wild goat), blue sheep and musk deer. It is also home to a number of ethnic groups who depend on the natural resources for their livelihoods.

WWF has being working in this region for many years and was instrumental in encouraging the government of Nepal to turn the conservation area over to local communities to ensure the sustainable management of this pristine environment.
/ ©: WWF Nepal
Location Map of Kangchenjunga Conservation Area
© WWF Nepal
  • / ©: bhutanclimatesummit.org.bt

WWF Goals

    • Climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation will be mainstreamed into the management of river systems.
    • A mosaic of over 7 million hectares of high conservation value forest, grassland and wetland will be secured, connecting 1,500 km of conservation area.
    • Viable populations of iconic and threatened species will be secured and will live in harmony with human communities.

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Photos and graphics © WWF or used with permission. Text available under a Creative Commons licence.