News Published: 24 February 2025

For more than a decade Royal Rotterdam Zoological & Botanical Gardens (RRZBG) has worked together with the Red Panda Network in Nepal to monitor the population of the endangered red panda (Ailurus fulgens) and restore their fragmented and degraded habitats in the Eastern Himalayan Ecoregion.

A majority of our restoration efforts are centered in the Panchthar-Ilam-Taplejung (PIT) corridor, home to the densest population of red pandas in Nepal and part of the Eastern Himalayan Broadleaf Forests: a region recognized as an important area for global biodiversity conservation by several leading international conservation organizations, including WWF, BirdLife International, and Conservation International.

On behave of RRZBG, Manager Living Collections Janno Weerman and EEP coordinator and GSMP convenor for the Red Panda, visited in 2024 the area to undertake several surveys to search for the red panda in the wild and be actively involved with planting and fencing the restored habitats. As a tree-dwelling species, red pandas struggle to survive when forests are fragmented and degraded. Without tree cover and bamboo to eat, the red panda is left vulnerable and populations become susceptible to bottlenecks, which reduce genetic variation and make it harder for populations to adapt.

Unfortunately, much of the red panda habitat in Nepal has been deforested and degraded; 70 percent of red panda habitat lies outside of protected areas and is fragmented into 400 small forest patches. This critical area is where we are working to establish the PIT Red Panda Protected Forest, which will connect the tri-national Kanchenjunga Conservation Area with India’s Barsey Rhododendron Garden and Singhalila National Park, creating an uninterrupted stretch of protected land extending across 11,500 square km. The PIT Red Panda Protected Forest will be the largest protected forest in Nepal and the first to be managed as a network of community forests.

Jaubari, Ilam district, is a priority location in the PIT corridor for habitat restoration. This area is crucial for establishing habitat contiguity for red pandas as it directly connects the unprotected forest areas of Nepal with protected areas in Nepal and India. Jaubari’s once flourishing forests have been utilized as pastureland and deforested for timber for more than 172 years, resulting in severe degradation of the habitat and leaving over 1665 acres barren.

However, 9 years of dedicated work in this region is showing major improvements to the landscape. Between 2019 and 2023 alone, we have seen a 5% increase in tree cover and an 8% decrease in combined barrenland and settlement areas. Through reforestation initiatives and protective measures like fencing, we are successfully contributing to positive ecological changes in crucial red panda habitat. To reforest these critical habitat areas we work closely with local communities to grow, plant, and manage native trees across the degraded landscape. This work wouldn’t be possible without the knowledge and dedication of local heroes, like our Restoration Guardians who work directly on our restoration sites, and the support of Panda Guardians who give monthly.

Grow, protect, plant, and care
We understand that red panda conservation requires a holistic approach; we view our restoration work the same way. From growing seedlings in our nurseries to post-planting care, our team remains committed to the restoration and survival of red panda habitat throughout the lifetime of the forest.

In 2023, we purchased 65,921 seedlings from pre-existing restoration nurseries managed by local communities. Of all the purchased and ready seedlings in the restoration nursery, almost 41,000 seedlings of different native species were planted in the Jaubari Restoration Site that year. Our growing potential continues to expand; we constructed three new conservation nurseries with a capacity of approximately 22,680 seedlings for sapling germination in Nepal’s Jaubari and Tumling in 2023. Before we plant the seedlings into the earth, we install fences around the restoration site to protect the young seedlings from livestock. Using a strategic combination of mesh wire and bamboo-mesh fencing, these fences prevent livestock entry without affecting the movement of wildlife like red pandas.

Once the fences have been constructed, Restoration Guardians begin planting diverse native seedlings across the landscape. Since the initiation of Plant a Red Panda Home in 2019, we have planted over 650,000 trees in degraded areas. As of today, in June of 2024, we have already planted 10,342 seedlings in degraded areas of Ilam this year alone. To increase the survival of the seedlings, we carry out post-planting care throughout the year. We conduct weeding, staking, and mulching of the planted seedlings, as well as regular monitoring of the trees’ growth and health.

A holistic approach to red panda conservation
We are proud of the successes of this habitat restoration project and are excited to see its continual impact on local communities of pandas, people, and plants alike. Not only have we seen improved tree cover in our restoration sites, but we have also seen improved presence of red pandas in these areas, as well. Best of all, our restoration work employs local people in green jobs that help foster a sustainable future for the people who live among the pandas.

Through eco-skill-building, employment with RPN, and better green spaces, we are seeing the lives of our communities changing for the better. “Red Panda Network has been helping us restore our degraded forests for eight years now; the Jaubari community is very happy that they are here,” says Thupten Bhutia, a local community member. “Wildlife that hasn’t been seen here for years — like Himalayan black bear, red muntjac, leopard and even red panda — are now visiting the reforested habitat.”

These successes are only possible with supporters like you, who help us purchase degraded land, buy and grow seedlings, and employ local people. Your support makes a difference; visit www.redpandanetwork.org today to make a lasting impact on red panda habitat restoration in Nepal and beyond.