Protecting red pandas and their habitat

Dear difers,

On the occasion of International Soil Conservation Day, Nepal has recognized the importance of the Puwamajhuwa Community Protected Area, located in the municipality of Ilam, in the east of the country.

This is the first community protected area, so declared by the local government, for the conservation of red pandas. This shows the government's commitment to the cause championed by the Red Panda Network (RPN).

Following this decision, the RPN has teamed up with the District Forestry Office and the municipality to create a steering committee, to ensure the management of this conservation area.

Some time ago, the Red Panda Network hired Sanjita Thami, a mother of 4 living in the Ilam district of Nepal. Having come to Jaubari to find a job, she then became a Restoration Guardian, replanting tree after tree of red panda habitat. 

Today, Sanjita's children are also part of the NGO's reforestation team, and the Thami family are experts in habitat restoration and nursery management - a commitment and know-how passed down from one generation to the next. 

Planting is underway at Jaubari, where 10,342 seedlings have already been planted. The restoration of this pastureland of over 680 ha located in eastern Nepal is a priority for the conservation of red pandas. The area links unprotected Nepalese forests with protected areas in Nepal and India. By 2023, the Red Panda Network's restoration project, Plant A Red Panda Home, had planted over 40,000 saplings in Nepal and built 3 nurseries. This project also enables the employment of villagers, who thus benefit from a new source of income that is not deleterious to nature.