Two Ramsar sites of international importance have been chosen to represent two different ecological systems and geographical locations: Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and its Buffer Zone in the Eastern part of Nepal representing the lotic river flood plain type ecosystem and Ghodaghodi Lake Area in the Western part representing an interconnected mosaic lacustrine oxbow lake type. Both the project sites have immense ecological, biological, cultural, economical and aesthetic values. CSUWN has been implementing field activities in these two sites since 2009.

Click here to view Fact Sheet of two demonstration sites:

Synopsis of Demonstration Sites:

Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR)

General Information
Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR) and its buffer zone is a riverine ecosystem of the Saptakoshi river covering Sunsari, Saptari and Udayapur districts in the eastern Terai. The floodplain is a complex mosaic of lotic and lentic ecosystem and characterized by grassy marshes, oxbow lakes, swamp lakes and many depressions which retain water throughout the year. As a result it has high global biodiversity values. A total of 17500 ha of the SaptaKoshi River floodplains was gazetted as a protected area in 1976 under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973 with an additional 17300 ha as the buffer zone. The Reserve is the first Ramsar site of Nepal enlisted on 17 December 1987.

Biodiversity value
KTWR is the largest known heronry in Nepal with an estimated congregation of over 50,000 migratory waterfowls during winter. Koshi Tappu supports about 45% of the total vertebrate species in Nepal by providing a habitat for 493 species of resident birds, 658 species of plants, 114 species of waterfowls and some endangered species i.e. Gangetic dolphin, soft shell turtle among others. Koshi Tappu is also home to two endemic fish species – Barilius jalkaoorei and Pseudeutropius murius. Additionally, the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve also supports the last remaining population of Arna (Asian Wild Water Buffalo) in Nepal, with a total population of 259 individuals (Census 2012). The habitat within KTWR is broadly classified as forests (5.4%), grassland (17.1%), river (52.4%) and agriculture land (7%). The forest-types comprise of Dalbergia-Acacia, and Bombax ceiba associations. The grassland is primarily composed of Typha, Vetivera, Phragmites, and Saccharum species.

Livelihood Value
KTWR field site covers 16 VDCs in 3 districts, namely, Sunsari, Saptari and Udayapur. The total population of KTWR is estimated to be 93, 323 individuals from 16,280 households (CSUWN Baseline Report 2009). Many of these households use products and services provided by the Koshi Tappu wetland. There are two groups – the poor and the ultra-poor – that are more dependent on the wetland resources than other groups. The most often extracted wetland resources are grasses and thatches for fodder and building house-roofs respectively; however, reed/canes, driftwood and fish are also extracted relatively commonly.

Socio-cultural and Religious value
Approximately 31% of the total population comprises of Wetland Dependent Communities (WDCs). These include Mallah, Dusad, Kewat, Bantar, Satar and Jhangad. About 61% of these belong to the ultra-poor and poor groups, who earn their livelihood through wage labor, cropping, firewood collection and other such activities. Local people depend excessively on the resources extracted from within the Reserve to meet their needs for energy, fodder, grazing and building materials.

Additionally, there are some well-known temples and sites around KTWR as well; such as a few Ram Janaki mandir (significant for Hindus) in east-Pipra and west-Kushaha; Masjid (significant for Muslims) in Sripur and; Koshi Barrage, a historical site in Haripur.

Major Issues/Challenges
KTWR faces several natural and anthropogenic issues and challenges. While the natural challenges are a part of the natural succession, the anthropogenic challenges are mostly related to the management of the wetland. Some of the prominent issues that hamper long-term sustainability of the wetland and also cause problems in livelihood sustenance of the local communities are:

• Over fishing
• Human-wildlife conflict
• Ever changing river course
• Over harvesting of resources
• Over grazing by feral cattle
• Poisoning and poaching

Ghodaghodi Lake Area (GLA)

Background
Ghodaghodi Lake Area comprises of 19 associated lakes and ponds. Ranging in size frm 2 to 138 ha, these 20 lakes (and their surrounding area) cover a total area of 2563ha. Ghodaghodi Lake, a freshwater oxbow lake and also the largest natural lowland lake of Nepal, is located at 205 meters above sea level. Since GLA is a key link between the Churia hills and the Tarai, it has been declared to be a part of the Basanta Protection Forest to give continuity to the Basanta Corridor that connects the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve of India to the Churia hills of Nepal. It lies between Bardia National Park and Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve by the side of east-west highway in Kailali District of the Far-Western Region. Ghodaghodi Lake was designated as a Ramsar Sites on 13 August, 2003.

Biodiversity value
GLA has high biodiversity value since it is rich in terms of biodiversity having 34 mammal, 29 fish and 9 heptero-fauna species. Also, more than 220 bird (migratory and resident) species which collectively represents about 16% of the national avifauna have been recorded in GLA. Additionally, it is also home to globally-threatened fauna including Marsh muggers and Red-crowned roofed turtles that use GLA as nesting grounds and nationally critically endangered flora such as Indian Kina Tree (Pterocarpus marsupium).

Furthermore, an estimated 1% of the total South-Asian Cotton Pygmy-goose (Nettapus coromandelianus) population resides in GLA. Similarly, this area is equally famous for other important migratory birds such as Grey hornbill, Eurasian eagle owl, Brown fish owl, Osprey and Kingfishers. GLA has also been recorded as the only breeding site of Common Moorhen in Nepal. It was noticed for the first time in 2010.

GLA also supports a number of plant species including 388 vascular plants and native aquatic plants such as Water primrose and Bladderwort. The Ghogaghodi Lake Area is surrounded by tropical deciduous Sal and Saj forest. Additionally, around 14.7ha of Wild Rice, the largest patch in Nepal, has been mapped in GLA. This provides a rich gene pool repository.

Livelihood value
GLA comprises of 3 VDCs in the Kailali district, namely Darakh, Ramshikharjhala, and Sandepani. The total population of GLA is estimated to be 57,064 individuals from 8,249 households (CSUWN Baseline Report 2009). The communities adjacent to the lake area depend on the lake for traditional livelihood needs – fishing and agriculture. The lake water is used to irrigate about 500 ha of agricultural land downstream. The area around the Lake complex is also used for a variety of purposes such as buffalo wallowing, livestock grazing and collection of forest and wetland products.

Socio-cultural and Religious value
The Lake is an important religious shrine for Hindus dedicated to Ghodaghodi deity. The indigenous people – Tharu – call it Ghodighoda Taal, the divine form of Lord Vishnu and Laxmi. Large religious gathering occurs during the festivals, Agan Panchami (Lawangi Puja) in November (Mangsir) and 'Maghi' in January (Magh). The Tharu celebrate these festivals by worshipping and offering sacrifices of pigs & other animals in the Ghodaghodi temple.

Major Issues/Challenges
GLA faces several natural and anthropogenic issues and challenges. While some of the challenges are a part of natural succession, the anthropogenic challenges are mostly related to the management of the wetland. Some of the prominent issues that hamper long-term sustainability of the wetland and also cause problems in livelihood maintenance of the local communities are:

• Encroachment along lake shores and forests
• Siltation around the sub-catchment area of Ghodaghodi lake
• Invasion by alien invasive species and vegetational succession
• Water diversion for different purposes
• Over harvest of local resources