Invasive species inch northwards in Nepal, threatening mountain ecosystems

When Pramod Bhattarai assumed his office as the chief conservation officer at Nepal’s Langtang National Park in November 2021, invasive species were not on his agenda. The growth of non-native plants had been a concern when he was stationed in Banke National Park in Nepal’s southern lowlands, where they were crowding out the native vegetation that feeds the park’s protected animals. But having never heard reports of invasive species in Langtang, in the Nepali Himalayas, he was confident that the high-altitude park was not troubled by the problem.

This assumption was shattered when Bhattarai found parts of the park invaded by non-native trees and bushes. “Thanks to climate change, the vegetation, in general, is shifting upwards, and it is bringing invasive alien species such as banmara to compete with native grasses,” Bhattarai tells The Third Pole. “As a result, musk deer and Himalayan tahr [a large wild goat] in the park might soon face difficulties in finding food.”