Habitat assessment and public engagement for pangolin conservation

Pangolins are distributed across Nepal and face severe threats from habitat destruction and poaching. Most enforcement and conservation programs are focused in protected areas to protect megafauna such as rhinos and tigers, which means that pangolins have less on-the-ground protection and often do not receive conservation priority. With Pangolin Crisis Fund support, this project aims to assess the pangolin habitat around Nepal’s most secured protected areas Chitwan and Parsa, and help authorities and local communities to include pangolins in their conservation plan and practices.

Chinese pangolins are critically endangered and experiencing severe threats of poaching and habitat loss across its range. It is extremely difficult to safeguard them in all the places, given the limit of enforcement capacity and conservation efforts. However, they can be safeguarded relatively easily inside the protected area, if there is enough interest from officials and the community to host pangolins. This continuation of the first project aims to help protect pangolins in Nepal’s first and most secured national park, Chitwan National Park, working with officials and indigenous communities to monitor pangolins and change public perceptions towards pangolins.