Threats and conservation status of threatened birds in Chitwan Annapurna Landscape, Nepal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3126/njes.v13i2.83525Keywords:
Landscape conservation, pollution, severity, threats, urgencyAbstract
Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape (ChAL), a biologically diverse region in Nepal, is progressively being influenced by human activities. This has impacted population and habitat of nationally and internationally threatened bird species. To identify ongoing threats for these birds, we conducted field surveys and expert opinions. Field surveys were performed using a grid-based point-count method (within a 50-meter radius), throughout 472 accessible 1 km² grids during the winter (November–February) and summer (April–July) seasons of 2020 and 2021. Species were classified using the IUCN Red List and the National Red List of Nepal, and threats were documented using the IUCN threat categorization scheme. Scope, severity and urgency were ranked qualitatively. Among the identified birds, globally, nine species were categorized as Near Threatened (NT), four as Vulnerable (VU), three as Endangered (EN), and three as Critically Endangered (CR). Pollution was the most prominent threat, followed by alterations to natural systems, residential and commercial building, and transportation infrastructure. Several threats were found to significantly affect species such as the Grey-crowned Prinia (Prinia cinereocapilla), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), and Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri). These results highlight the significance of ChAL for bird conservation and the need of adopting immediate measures to reduce pollution, manage regional risks, and regulate habitat modification. For bird diversity to survive in this ecologically critical area over the long run, species-specific conservation techniques are advised in addition to routine monitoring and updated threat assessments. Safeguarding the ChAL from pollution, habitat degradation and human pressure is essential to conserve its threatened bird species and maintain long term ecological balance.
Downloads
References
Adhikari, J.N., Bhattarai, B.P., Rokaya, M.B., & Thapa, T.B. (2022). Land use / land cover changes in the central part of the Chitwan Annapurna Landscape, Nepal. Peer J, e13435. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13435.
Adhikari, J.N., Bhattarai, B.P., & Thapa, T.B. (2019). Factors affecting diversity and distribution of threatened birds in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 11(5), 13511–13522. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4137.11.5.13511-13522.
Adhikari, S., Sharma, H.P., Gautam, R., & Basaula, R. (2020). Effects of weather on breeding success of ashy prinia (Prinia socialis) in Manigram of Tilottama Municipality, Nepal. Nepal Journal of Environmental Sciences, 8, 11–16. https://doi.org/10.3126/njes.v8i1.35404.
Areaya, H., Yonas, M., & Haileselasie, T.H. (2013). Community composition and abundance of residential birds in selected church forests, Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia. Scientific Research and Essays, 8(22), 1038–1047. https://doi.org/10.5897/SRE2013.5367.
Basaula, R., Sharma, H.P., Belant, J.L., & Sapkota, K. (2021). Invasive water hyacinth limits globally threatened waterbird abundance and diversity at Lake Cluster of Pokhara Valley, Nepal. Sustainability, 13(24), 13700. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413700.
Bastola, S.C., Kandel, P., Mahato, H.R., Adhikari, J.N., & Bhattarai, B.P. (2025). Diversity, abundance and community composition of birds in Chitwan Annapurna Landscape, Central Nepal. Ecology and Evolution, 15(7). https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71781.
BirdLife International. (2023). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Birds. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
Both, C., Bouwhuis, S., Lessells, C.M., & Visser, M.E. (2006). Climate change and population declines in a long-distance migratory bird. Nature, 441(7089), 81–83.
Buckland, S.T., Anderson, D.R., Burnham, K.P., Laake, J.L., Borchers, D.L., & Thomas, L. (2001). Introduction to distance sampling: Estimating abundance of biological populations. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/OSO/9780198506492.001.0001.
Butchart, S.H., Stattersfield, A.J., Bennun, L.A., Shutes, S.M., Akçakaya, H.R., Baillie, J.E., Stuart, S.N., & Hilton-Taylor, C., Mace, G.M. (2004). Measuring global trends in the status of biodiversity: Red list indices for birds. PLoS Biology, 2(12), e383. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0020383.
Butchart, S.H., Stattersfield, A.J., & Brooks, T.M. (2006). Going or gone: Defining “possibly extinct” species to give a truer picture of recent extinctions. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club, 126, 7–24.
Chhetri, M.B.P., & Shakya, A. (2016). Environmental degradation in Nepal. Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, Government of Nepal.
Dhakal, H., Sharma, H.P., McClure, C.J., Virani, M., Rolek, B.W., Pradhan, N.M., & Bhusal, K.P. (2022). Vulture distribution and people perception of vultures in Pokhara Valley, Nepal. Ecology and Evolution, 12(1), e8528. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8528.
Díaz-Siefer, P., Olmos-Moya, N., Fontúrbel, F.E., Lavandero, B., Pozo, R.A., & Celis-Diez, J.L. (2022). Bird-mediated effects of pest control services on crop productivity: a global synthesis. Journal of Pest Science, 95(2), 567–576. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-021-01438-4.
Dinesh, G.K., Priyanka, B., Anokhe, A., Ramesh, P.T., Venkitachalam, R., Sri, K.K., ... & Soni, R. (2022). Ecosystem services and ecological role of birds in insect and pest control. Plant Protection: From Chemicals to Biologicals. First Edit. De Gruyter, Berlin, Boston, Germany, 463-504.
DNPWC. (1973). National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973. Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Ministry of Forestry and Soil Conservation, Kathmandu, Nepal.
DNPWC & BCN. (2022). Birds of Nepal: An official checklist. Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and Bird Conservation Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal.
DNPWC & BCN. (2025). Birds of Nepal: An official checklist. Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation and Bird Conservation Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Gaston, K.J. (2022). Birds and ecosystem services. Current Biology, 32(20), R1163-R1166.
Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., Inskipp, T., & Baral, H.S. (2016). Birds of Nepal: Helm field guide. Bloomsbury Publishing India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India.
Gyawali, K., Karki, B., & Ghimire, M. (2017). To study the avian diversity and possibilities of bird watching tourism in Annapurna Sanctuary trekking route. Pokhara Bird Society.
Inskipp, C., & Baral, H.S. (2010). Potential impacts of agriculture on Nepal birds. Our Nature, 8(1), 270–312. https://doi.org/10.3126/on.v8i1.4339.
Inskipp, C., Baral, H.S., Inskipp, T., Khatiwada, A.P., Khatiwada, M.P., Poudyal, L.P., & Amin, R. (2017). Nepal’s National Red List of Birds. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 9(1), 9700–9722. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2855.9.1.9700-9722.
Inskipp, C., Baral, H.S., Phuyal, S., Bhatt, T.R., Khatiwada, M., Inskipp, T., ... & Amin, R. (2016). The status of Nepal’s birds: The national red list series. Zoological Society of London, UK, 628 pp.
Lee, J.H., Park, D., & Sung, H.C. (2012). Large-scale habitat association modeling of the endangered Korean rat snake (Elaphe schrenckii). Zoological Sciences, 29(5), 281–285. https://doi.org/10.2108/zsj.29.281.
Margoluis, R., & Salafsky, N. (1998). Measures of success: Designing, managing and monitoring conservation and development projects. Island Press, Washington, DC.
Mariyappan, M., Rajendran, M., Velu, S., Johnson, A.D., Dinesh, G.K., Solaimuthu, K., ... & Sankar, M. (2023). Ecological role and ecosystem services of birds: A review. International Journal of Environment and Climate Change, 13(6), 76-87. https://doi.org/10.9734/IJECC/2023/v13i61800.
Mengesha, G., Bekele, A., & Carl, S. (2011). Abundance and distribution of bird species in the Nech Sar National Park, Ethiopia. African Journal of Ecology, 49(3), 292–300. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2028.2011.01266.x.
MoEFC. (2016). Conservation Landscapes of Nepal. Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Møller, A.P., Rubolini, D., & Lehikoinen, E. (2008). Populations of migratory bird species that did not show a phenological response to climate change are declining. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(42), 16195–16200.
Neupane, B., Singh, B.K., Poudel, P., Panthi, S., & Khatri, N.D. (2020). Habitat occupancy and threat assessment of gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) in the Rapti River, Nepal. Global Ecology and Conservation, 24, e01270.
Pyšek, P., Blackburn, T.M., García-Berthou, E., Perglová, I., & Rabitsch, W. (2017). Displacement and local extinction of native and endemic species: Impact of biological invasions on ecosystem services. In Vilà, M., & Hulme, P.E. (Eds.), Impact of biological invasions on ecosystem services (pp. 157–175). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45121-3_10.
Ralph, C.J., Sauer, J.R., & Droege, S. (1995). Monitoring bird populations by point counts. Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Salafsky, N., Salzer, D., Stattersfield, A.J., Hilton-Taylor, C., Neugarten, R., Butchart, S.H. M., Collen, B., Cox, N., Master, L.L., O’Connor, S., & Wilkie, D. (2008). A standard lexicon for biodiversity conservation: Unified classifications of threats and actions. Conservation Biology, 22(4), 897–911. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00937.x.
Sugumaran, M.P., Goveanthan, A.S., Natarajan, K., Kalaichelvi, K., Jayakumar, J., Gayathry, G., ... & Sinduja, M. (2024). Impacts of various insecticide forms on avian health and mortality: A comprehensive review. Journal of Experimental Agriculture International, 46(10), 524–537.
Symes, W.S., Edwards, D.P., Miettinen, J., Rheindt, F.E., & Carrasco, L.R. (2018). The combined impacts of deforestation and wildlife trade on tropical biodiversity are severely underestimated. Nature Communications, 9(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06579-2.
Téllez-Hernández, E., Domínguez-Vega, H., Zuria, I., Marín-Togo, M.C., & Gómez-Ortiz, Y. (2023). Functional and ecological diversity of urban birds: Conservation and redesign of biocultural landscapes. Journal for Nature Conservation, 73, 126395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2023.126395.
Thapa, G.J., Wikramanayake, E., & Forrest, J. (2015). Climate-change impacts on the biodiversity of the Terai Arc Landscape and the Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape. WWF Nepal, Hariyo Ban Program, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Whelan, C.J., Wenny, D.G., & Marquis, R.J. (2008). Ecosystem services provided by birds. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1134(1), 25–60. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1439.003.
Wickham, H. (2016). Getting started with ggplot2. In ggplot2: Elegant graphics for data analysis (pp. 11–31). Springer International Publishing.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Central Department of Environmental Science, Tribhuvan University
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
