The Parsa Wildlife Reserve was established in 1984 in the Terai region of central Nepal. The paper gives brief accounts of its floral diversity, vegetation types (various different forest types) and animal diversity, and of the (illegal) use of wild plant resources by people living in areas adjoining the reserve. Biodiversity conservation issues are discussed, including poaching, the use of plant resources and their over-harvesting, fishing, grass harvesting (which is allowed once a year), villages within the reserve, crop depredation by wild animals from the reserve in adjoining villages, and destruction of the adjoining forest in Bara District to the east (which is important for animals from the reserve). Some conservation recommendations are made.