The population of the Endangered red panda Ailurus fulgens has been reduced by half in less than 2 decades, predominantly as a result of habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. The 2016 National Survey of Red Pandas in Nepal found that the species’ habitat was fragmented into > 400 small forest patches, primarily as a result of conversion of forest to farmland and settlements, unsustainable livestock grazing and resource extraction, and infrastructure development. To counter this problem, the Red Panda Network works with local communities by purchasing private land to restore red panda habitat and improve habitat quality and connectivity in the Panchthar–Ilam–Taplejung region in the Kangchenjunga landscape, which has transboundary conservation significance in the eastern Himalayas. Nearly 50% of the Panchthar–Ilam–Taplejung region has suitable habitat for red pandas but 85% is unprotected, national forest or private lands.
In 2015, the Red Panda Network initiated habitat restoration initiatives with small-scale reforestation as a part of its community-based red panda conservation programme. This initiative developed into a flagship campaign known as Plant A Red Panda Home in 2020, which reforests core habitat and connects fragmented forest through land purchase and tree planting to create a wildlife corridor to sustain a viable red panda population. Currently, eastern Nepal's Ilam district is a priority location for the campaign. In this district, along the Nepal–India border, there are c. 1,500 ha of barren land that hinder the movement of red pandas and other wildlife.
Purchased land is handed to the government, to be managed by local communities as Community Forests. The Red Panda Network has supported the establishment of seven community-managed forest conservation nurseries in the Panchthar–Ilam–Taplejung region, with the capacity to produce 200,000 seedlings per year. These seedlings have been used to restore c. 360 ha of red panda habitat since the campaign began. By October 2021, 134,393 saplings had been planted, exceeding the campaign's goal of planting 100,000 trees in 2021. In 2021 the campaign provided 4,800 days of employment for local communities. So far, the Red Panda Network has purchased 31 ha of private land for restoration, and restored or created > 50 wildlife waterholes.
The Critically Endangered Chinese pangolin Manis pentadactyla, red panda and Bengal tiger Panthera tigris are among the threatened species that will benefit from these forest restoration efforts. The recent photographic evidence of a Bengal tiger at 3,165 m in the Panchthar–Ilam–Taplejung region (Bista et al., 2021, Checklist, 17, 1249–1253) indicates the importance of landscape connectivity across forest habitats of Nepal and India. Plant A Red Panda Home is the Red Panda Network's commitment to support the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030.
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