Dang Deukhuri foothill forests and west Rapti wetlands (14326)
Nepal, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2025
National site name: Dang Deukhuri foothill forests and west Rapti wetlands
Central coordinates: Latitude: 28.0000, Longitude: 82.4167
System: terrestrial, freshwater
Elevation (m): 200 to 900
Area of KBA (km2): 1997.55809
Protected area coverage (%): 0.19
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: <div style="text-align: justify; ">The DDWR IBA extends in Banke, Dang, Kapilvastu and Arghakhanchi Districts of Lumbini Province. The west Rapti River flows through the length of the Deukhuri valley in the inner terai after emerging from a gorge through the Mahabharat hills at Bhalubang. There are many tributaries of the Rapti, such as the Arjun Khola, Gurung Khola, Baura Khola, Subel Khola and Budi Khola; these tributaries remain dry except during the monsoon season (Thakuri 2009a,b). </div><br>
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: <div style="font-style: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">A total of 256 species of birds have been recorded for the IBA. 246 bird species was recorded in surveys carried out in October 2008, January, March and June 2009 (Thakuri 2009a,b), an additional nine species were recorded by Cox (2008) making a total of 256 species for this IBA. Thakuri (2009a) concluded that as the species richness curve continued to increase towards the end of the survey work, further surveys are very likely to find more species.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Bird species recorded included significant numbers of the globally threatened Egyptian Vulture, and White-rumped Vulture. Other globally threatened species are rare or vagrants: Great Slaty Woodpecker </span><i>Mulleripicus pulverulentus</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Slender-billed Vulture </span><i>Gyps tenuirostris</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Red-headed Vulture </span><i>Sarcogyps calvus</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Greater Spotted Eagle </span><i>Clanga clanga</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> and Steppe Eagle </span><i>Aquila nipalensis</i>. Further fieldwork may find that some of these species have significant populations in DDWR.</div><p style="text-align: justify; ">Non-bird biodiversity: Globally threatened mammal species recorded include Four-horned Antelope <i>Tetracerus quadricornis</i> (Khanal et al. 2017a), Tiger <i>Panthera tigris</i>, Common Leopard <i>Panthera pardus</i>, Sloth Bear <i>Melursus</i> <i>ursinus</i> and Asiatic elephant <i>Elephas maximus</i> ( Khanal and Baniya 2018). The globally near-threatened Striped Hyena <i>Hyaena hyaena</i> has also been recorded (Khanal 2015, Khanal et al. 2017). Reptiles include the globally threatened Mugger <i>Crocodylus palustris </i>(Khanal 2017).</p>
Manageability of the site: Site identified based on BirdLife International's Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, under which manageability is strongly recommended but not explicitly documented
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Sal Shorea robusta forest is the main vegetation type found here. Degraded grasslands occur along the Rapti River. Although the exact extent of remaining forest is unknown, the area may still retain a significant portion of Churia hill forests. </span></div>
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Forests of Dang Deukhuri were observed to be heavily exploited during the period of political insurgency in 2008/09 throughout all seasons. Ghandev, Mahadev, Durga, Santi and Saljhundi Community Forests were some highly deforested community forests. High rates of deforestation were noted in the first assessment of this IBA (Baral and Inskipp 2005) and these may still be continuing.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Evidence of illegal hunting and trapping was found. Both questionnaire and informal survey respondents indicated that hunting and trapping persist. A Brown Fish Owl Ketupa zeylonensis was found trapped for sale, for example. Gunshots were heard commonly at Gadhwa and Rihar. The unexpected low frequency of recording of urban birds and game birds implies that there is a serious hunting and trapping problem. Only one call of Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus was heard from Budikhola Gobardiya when more were expected considering the extent of suitable habitat. Herders were found with catapults. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although almost all of the forest was managed as community forest, cattle grazing continued in most community forests and was associated with hunting and trapping.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The dry Dang Deukhuri forests are susceptible to forest fire during spring. Forest fire was observed from 12 places on 7 June 2009 and was observed on all survey days.<br>Farmers commonly use pesticides. Some people use pesticides for fishing in the Rapti River during winter; many dead wading birds were found – possibly poisoned by pesticides.<br>Overfishing took place in the Rapti River in winter when the water level was low. Aquatic birds were highly disturbed by the collection of sand and stones from the riverbed. </div>
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Small-holder farming | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Gathering terrestrial plants | Unintentional effects (species being assessed is not the target) | Ongoing |
| Residential & commercial development | Housing & urban areas | Ongoing | |
| Residential & commercial development | Tourism & recreation areas | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: <div style="text-align: justify;">Baral, HS and Inskipp, C (2005) Important Bird Areas in Nepal: key sites for conservation. Bird Conservation Nepal and BirdLife International, Kathmandu and Cambridge.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cox, JH (2008) Rapid assessment of critical habitat, birds and human interaction in Kapilvastu and Dang Deukhuri Districts, Nepal. 29 October – 14 November 2006 and 16 April – 4 May 2007. Summary report to WWF-Nepal Terai Arc Landscape Program (TAL) and Bird Conservation Nepal. Unpublished. 33 pp. http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/inskipp/2007_001.pdf </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Khanal, C. (2015) First camera trap record of striped hyena in Deukhuri valley, Dang, Nepal. TigerPaper 42: 22-24. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Khanal C. (2017) First Confirmed record of mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) in Dang, Nepal. Crocodile Specialist Group Newsletter 36: 11-13.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Khanal, C. and Baniya, (2018) Deukhuri valley: a wildlife haven in the Shiwalik hills of Nepal. The Himalayan Naturalist 1(1), 8-10.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Khanal, C., Ghimirey, Y., Acharya, R. and Baniya, S. (2017a) First record of Four-horned Antelope Tetracerus quadricornis (De Blainville, 1816) in Deukhuri Valley: First camera trap record outside protected areas of Nepal, GNUSLETTER 34: 24-26.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Khanal, C., Baniya, S. and Acharya, M. (2017b) First confirmed record of striped hyaena (Hyaena hyaena) den in Nepal. J Biodivers Endanger Species 5: 195. doi: 10.4172/2332-2543.1000195.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Thakuri, JJ (2009a) Ornithological survey of Dang Deukhuri foothill forest and West Rapti wetlands IBA. Danphe 18(3): 5-12. http://www.birdlifenepal.org/publication.php</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Thakuri, JJ (2009b) An ornithological survey of Dang Deukhuri foothill forests and West Rapti wetlands IBA. A report submitted to Oriental Bird Club, UK. Unpublished.</span></div>
Contributors: Site identified based on Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas by the BirdLife International Partnership