Ramsar Listed Nine Lakes of Pokhara

The lake city of Nepal, Pokhara including all nine lakes are included collectively in Ramsar site list. The beautiful lakes of Kaski district such as Fewa, Rupa, Begnas, Kamalpokhari, Khaste, Guide, Neureli, Dipang and Maidital have been listed as Ramsar site. According to Ramsar organization, the Site hosts a wide variety of globally threatened migratory birds such as the critically endangered Baer’s pochard (Aythya baeri) and Indian vulture (Gyps indicus), and mammals such as the vulnerable clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) and the endangered Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata). Pokhara is among the areas with the highest rainfall in Nepal, and the Valley and the lakes play an important role in the hydrological cycle of the region by recharging groundwater, controlling floods and trapping sediment. Thousands of people depend on the lakes for income from tourism, fishing, irrigation, electricity generation and water supply: an economic valuation has shown that Phewa Lake provides goods and services worth more than USD 279,000 per year; and the Rupa Lake Restoration and Fishery Cooperative, organized by over 600 households, and earns more than USD 56,000 per year from fishing. Representatives from the Secretariat of Ramsar provided an official certificate amidst a program in Pokhara to commemorate the World Ramsar Day on February 2, 2016. Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Gokya Lake of Solukhumbu, Gosaikunda of Rasuwa, Jagdishpur of Kapilvastu, Rara of Mugu, Ghodaghodi of Kailali, Maipokhari of Ilam and Bishajari Lake of Chitwan have been already included in the Ramsar list.