Nepal – a land linked country

• Nepal's location in the centre of the Himalayan range places the country in the transitional zone between the eastern and western Himalayas.
• Nepal's rich biodiversity is a reflection of this unique geographical position as well as its altitudinal and climatic variations.
• It incorporates Paliarctic and Indo-Malayan bio-geographical regions and major floristic.

Plant and animal species of Nepal and the World

Proportion of terrestrial areas protected (%)

Gap in biodiversity conservation in Nepal

• More than two thirds (67.84%) of the total area of (PAs) is in high mountains, although this region accounts for only 23.92% of the country's total area.
• The hills comprise the highest proportion (29.17%) of the country's area but currently have the smallest proportion (1.33%) of PAs.
• The altitudinal zones between 200–400 m are well represented with PAs;
• The region between 400–2700 m is poorly represented, and representation by PAs is comparatively higher in the area above 2800 m.
• The ecoregions that have high conservation priority at global scale are poorly represented in protected areas of Nepal.
• Existing PAs include 39.62% of flowering plants, 84.53% of mammals, 95.73% of birds, and 70.59% of herpetofauna of the country.
• Threatened animal species are well protected, whereas a large number of threatened plant species are not represented by the current PA system.