The Status of Nepal's Mammals: The National Red List Series - IUCN

Preface
It is with great pleasure that I write this foreword to The Status of Nepal’s Mammals. This landmark
publication gives us, for the first time, a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the national
conservation status of the 208 species of Nepalese mammals. Almost a quarter of Nepal’s mammals are
threatened with extinction (23%). However, the true percentage of threatened mammals will probably be
much worse than this, because 38% of the species are Data Deficient, and many of these will almost certainly
be found to be threatened once they have been properly studied.
The most threatened group of mammals in the country is the ungulates, of which 57% are threatened.
Species such as the Barasingha Rucervus duvaucelii, the Hog Deer Axis porcinus and the Himalayan Musk
Deer Moschus leucogaster have globally important populations in Nepal, as do the South Asian River Dolphin
Platanista gangetica, Greater One-horned Rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis and the Hispid Hare Caprolagus
hispidus. The most poorly known groups in Nepal are the small mammals (bats, shrews, rodents), of which
48% are Data Deficient.
The Status of Nepal’s Mammals has been an invaluable project which was only possible due to the
contribution of many committed scientists and conservationists, and the close collaboration between: the
Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, Department of National Parks and Wildlife
Conservation; the National Trust for Nature Conservation; the International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN); and the Zoological Society of London. Long-term commitment is needed to continue producing
national red lists in the region, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and flowering plants. Nepal was one
of 183 governments that are parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity that adopted the following
target at the Nagoya conference in October 2010: By 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been
prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained.
This book provides an excellent basis for measuring whether or not Nepal can achieve this important target
for mammals.
This publication will have the following outputs for conservation:
• It provides a baseline for further assessments, monitoring changes in mammal status by calculating the
National Mammal Red List Index for Nepal and also measuring the success of conservation projects that
have already been implemented.
• It can influence the implementation of national legislation and policies, and international conventions
in Nepal.
• Because The Status of Nepal’s Mammals enhances global knowledge on species, it contributes to the
growth and updating of the global IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
I congratulate the large number of people who came together to produce this excellent publication. I hope
that when the next edition of The Status of Nepal’s Mammals is written, it will document the results of
successful conservation in many parts of the country.
Simon M. Stuart
Chair IUCN Species Survival Commission
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