Gaurishankar Conservation Area
{{Short description|Protected area in the Himalayas of Nepal}}
{{Infobox Protected area
| name = Gaurishankar Conservation Area
| iucn_category = VI
| photo = Gaurishankar Himal.jpg
| photo_caption = View of Gaurishankar
| location = Nepal
| map = Nepal
| relief = 1
| coordinates = {{coord|27.87|N|86.18|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| area = {{cvt|2179|km2}}
| established = 11 January 2010
| governing_body = Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation
}}
File:Waterfall inside gauri shankhar conservation area.jpg
Gaurishankar Conservation Area is a protected area in the Himalayas of Nepal that was established in January 2010, covering {{cvt|2179|km2}} in the Ramechhap, Dolakha and Sindhupalchok districts and encompassing 22 Village Development Committees. It is contiguous with Tibet in the north and a part of the Sacred Himalayan Landscape.{{cite web |author=World Wildlife Fund |year=2012 |title=Nepal REDD+ Readiness |url=http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/socio__economic_basesline.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619112352/http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/socio__economic_basesline.pdf |archive-date=2015-06-19 |access-date=2015-06-19 |publisher=WWF Nepal}}NTNC (2010). [https://ntnc.org.np/project/gaurishankar-conservation-area-project-gcap Gaurishankar Conservation Area Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603073843/https://ntnc.org.np/project/gaurishankar-conservation-area-project-gcap |date=2019}}. National Trust for Nature Conservation, Nepal. The protected area connects the Langtang and Sagarmatha National Parks.{{cite book |author=Bhuju, U. R. |author2=Shakya, P. R. |author3=Basnet, T. B. |author4=Shrestha, S. |year=2007 |title=Nepal Biodiversity Resource Book. Protected Areas, Ramsar Sites, and World Heritage Sites |publisher=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 |location=Kathmandu |isbn=978-92-9115-033-5 |url=http://lib.icimod.org/record/7560/files/Nepal%20Biodiversity%20Resource%20Book.pdf |access-date=2018-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726170342/http://books.icimod.org/demo/uploads/ftp/Nepal%20Biodiversity%20Resource%20Book.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-26 }} In 2010, the Government of Nepal handed over the management of Gaurishankar Conservation Area to National Trust for Nature Conservation for 20 years, which has been managing the area through its Gaurishankar Conservation Area Project.
History
In April 2006, the Dolakha Chamber of Commerce and Industries has requested the Government of Nepal and the Nepal Tourism Board to declare the Rolwaling area as a national park.
In January 2010, the Federation of Community Forest Users, Nepal expressed its disagreement against the decision to establish a conservation area and formed a National Struggle Committee to launch a campaign against the declaration, demanding that the community people should obtain management responsibility of the protected area.Fecofun (2010) [http://www.fecofun.org/projects/An%20update%20on%20FECOFUN%20Movement%20%20against%20GCA.pdf An update on FECOFON's Movement against Gaurishankar Conservation Area Declaration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325122441/http://www.fecofun.org/projects/An%20update%20on%20FECOFUN%20Movement%20%20against%20GCA.pdf |date=2012-03-25 }} Federation of Community Forest Users, Nepal
Conservation Area Boundary
The Gaurishankar Conservation Area encompasses 22 VDCs, covering three districts. In Ramechhap, it includes the Chuchure and Gumdel VDCs. The Shyama, Suri, Chankhu, Marbu, Khare, Orang, Bulung, Laduk, Chilankha, Aalampu, Bigu, Kalinchok, Lamabagar and Gaurishankar VDCs of Dolakha also fall within its boundaries. And six VDCs of the Sindhupalchok District - Ghorthali, Marming, Listikot, Tatopani, Fulpingkatti and Gumba - are now part of the conservation area.{{cite web |author=Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation |year=2014 |title=Gaurishankar Conservation Area |url=http://www.dnpwc.gov.np/index.php/page/42 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911192618/http://www.dnpwc.gov.np/index.php/page/42 |archive-date=2014-09-11 |publisher=Government of Nepal}}
Flora and fauna
The Gaurishankar Conservation Area is rich in bio-diversity. A total of 16 varieties of vegetation have been identified in the area, including forests of Pinus roxburghii, Schima-Castanopsis, Alnus, Pinus wallichiana, Pinus patula, Rhododendron, Quercus lanata and Temperate mountain oak forest.{{cite web|title=Gaurishankar: New Conservation Area Under NTNC Management|url=http://www.ntnc.org.np/news/gaurishankar-new-conservation-area-under-ntnc-management|publisher=National Trust for Nature Conservation|access-date=22 February 2013|archive-date=12 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512083729/http://ntnc.org.np/news/gaurishankar-new-conservation-area-under-ntnc-management|url-status=dead}}
=Mammals=
The Gaurishankar Conservation Area's mammalian population totals 34 species, including snow leopard, Himalayan black bear and Himalayan thar. One of the rarest mammals in the area is the red panda.
In February 2019, an Asian golden cat together with Assam macaque, masked palm civet, Himalayan goral, Himalayan serow and Indian muntjac were recorded in Gaurishankar Conservation Area.{{cite journal |author1=Koju, N.P. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Bashyal, B. |author3=Pandey, B.P. |author4=Thami, S. |author5=Dhamala, M.K. |author6=Shah, S.N. |year=2020 |title=New record on Asiatic Golden Cat Catopuma temminckii Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae): photographic evidence of its westernmost distribution in Gaurishankar Conservation Area, Nepal |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=15256–15261 |doi=10.11609/jott.5227.12.2.15256-15261|doi-access=free }}
=Birds=
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.dnpwc.gov.np/protected_areas/details/gaurishankarconservationarea Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal : Gaurishankar Conservation Area] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200120021732/http://dnpwc.gov.np/protected_areas/details/gaurishankarconservationarea |date=2020-01-20 }}
{{Protected Areas of Nepal}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Protected areas of Nepal