Data Zone
Country/territory: Nepal
IBA criteria met: A1, A2, A3 (2005)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 22,500 hectares (225.00 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2011 | very poor | high | low |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2005 baseline)
Khaptad National Park lies south of the Himalayan range in far western Nepal in Seti Zone. Khaptad is the only protected area representative of Nepal’s western mid-mountain region (Inskipp 1992). It is an isolated massif with the highest point at 3300m. The top is a rolling plateau of extensive grasslands interspersed with oak/coniferous forests of Quercus semecarpifolia/Abies spectabilis/Rhododendron barbatum/Tsuga dumosa, shrubberies of Rhododendron barbatum and berberis, and boggy areas. The slopes of the massif are thickly vegetated with broadleaved forests of Quercus lanata, Q. floribunda/Q. leucotricophora lower down. Higher up there is a mixed forest of Q. semecarpifolia/Q. floribunda, hemlock Tsuga dumosa, fir Abies pindrow and maple Acer, and on southern and western slopes Q. semecarpifolia/Rhododendron arboreum with some dense bamboo stands. Subtropical forest covers a small area of the park and comprises Chir Pine Pinus roxburghii and broadleaved forest. A small lake, Khaptad Daha, lies on the top at 3050m (Inskipp 1989b).
Key biodiversity
A total of 243 bird species have been recorded in the park (Inskipp 1989a,b, 1992, Halliday 1994, Giri and Choudhary 1996, Khadka 1996a, Regmi and Khadka 1996). There are 20 additional species that need further confirmation of their occurrence at Khaptad (Khadka 1996b, Regmi and Khadka 1996). Four near-threatened species, including Satyr Tragopan, which is resident, one globally threatened and two restricted-range species have been recorded. The lake is a useful staging post for small numbers of migrant waterfowl (Khadka 1996b). Khaptad has large areas of temperate forest and is known to support significant populations of characteristic species of the Sino-Himalayan Temperate Forest biome.
Non-bird biodiversity: A total of 21 species of mammals has been reported from Khaptad (Khadka 1996a) including the globally threatened Asiatic Black Bear Ursus thibetanus and Asiatic Wild Dog Cuon alpinus.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Khaptad National Park (Nepal). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/khaptad-national-park-iba-nepal on 23/12/2024.