- The proposed Nagmati Dam in Nepal’s capital potentially threatens critically endangered Chinese pangolins by flooding their prime habitat.
- Researchers warn that pangolins are especially vulnerable due to their small home ranges and specific habitat needs, meaning even limited habitat loss could have severe population impacts.
- The dam’s environmental impact assessment is criticized for failing to properly acknowledge or evaluate risks to these threatened species.
- Beyond pangolins, other threatened wildlife in the park — including leopards and Himalayan black bear — may face displacement, increasing ecological stress and conflict risks.
KATHMANDU — A proposed dam in Kathmandu’s northeastern ridge promises to revive the sewage-choked sacred Bagmati River that runs past revered Hindu temples and ease the valley’s chronic water shortage. But conservationists warn that the project could exact a high ecological cost, even potentially impacting critically endangered wildlife within the Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, where the dam is set to rise.
A new study in Ecology and Evolution journal states that the Nagmati Dam will inundate large parts of potential prime pangolin habitat and foraging areas, noting that the project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) “overlooks this threat” and fails to recognize the impacts on the species.
The national park is home to the critically endangered Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), protected under Nepal’s conservation law.
“Pangolins have a small home range and specific habitat needs, so the impact on almost 100 hectares [247 acres] of area because of the dam will have big consequences for them,” said Kumar Paudel, a pangolin specialist from the nonprofit Greenhood Nepal and co-author of the study.
“We need to be extremely careful about the impacts on biodiversity while developing infrastructure projects. This is not just about pangolins but other species, too,” he said.
The planned Nagmati Dam — a 95-meter (311-foot) barrier with a capacity to store more than 8 billion liters (2.1 billion gallons) of water — aims to capture monsoon runoff and release it through the dry season. But environmentalists have dismissed the $190-million project as “unnecessary” and “unrealistic,” warning it could uproot Indigenous Tamang communities, fell over 80,000 trees and trigger cascading risks, including catastrophic flooding due to possible dam bursts and biodiversity loss.
The Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park covers about 15,900 hectares (39,290 acres) and serves as a natural water recharge center for downstream communities in Kathmandu. It is also the origin point of the Bagmati and Bishnumati rivers, which feed on the forest’s watershed for flow and groundwater recharge.
The park is also a biodiversity hotspot, sheltering hundreds of species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and butterflies. A 2024 checklist of birds in the Shivapuri Nagarjun area, published in Nepalese Journal of Zoology, describes the park as a “haven for birdlife,” documenting 396 species, including the spiny babbler, Nepal’s only endemic bird.
Another 2023 checklist recorded 65 mammal species in Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, of which 1.53% are classified as critically endangered and 6.15% as endangered in the National Red List. Species in the threatened category include the Chinese pangolin, leopard (Panthera pardus), Himalayan black bear (Ursus thibetanus), eastern bent-wing bat (Miniopterus fuliginosus) and Himalayan serow (Capricornis sumatraensis thar). The study, however, did not record any Indian pangolins in camera-trap footage, field observations or forest patrols conducted over the study period.
“The dam, in addition to other infrastructure projects that will come along, will certainly have an impact on the wildlife and displace them during the construction,” said Sanjan Thapa, executive director of the Kathmandu-based nonprofit Small Mammals Conservation and Research Foundation (SMCRF) and co-author of the 2023 study. “We mostly studied bats and rodents, and they might be minimally impacted in post-construction unless there is flooding. We need specific studies to assess the overall impact on wildlife.”
But many conservationists argue that the alarm must be sounded now before it is too late. The dam, if built without rigorous assessment of the ecological costs, could inflict irreversible damage on the park’s plant and animal life.
Bishwanath Rijal, chairperson of the nonprofit Green Guard Nepal and a lecturer at Amrit Campus in Kathmandu, said the proposed Nagmati Dam would “act like a giant wall, blocking the river’s natural flow.”
He warned that this could threaten migratory fish species like the snowtrout (Schizothorax richardsonii) and torrent catfish (Amblyceps mangois), which depend on unobstructed river movement to feed and spawn. He added that the dam must incorporate “fish ladders” to allow species to swim past the high structure and reach their breeding grounds upstream.
“When the dam is built, the fast-moving river will turn into a deep, still lake,” Rijal said. “Fish and insects that need cold, fast water will lose their homes. Mud and sand will get trapped behind the dam, changing the riverbed for tiny creatures like mayflies and stoneflies. Without fish ladders to help them pass the wall, these species may not survive.”
The dam’s EIA identifies at least 10 wild mammal species within the project area, including barking deer (Muntiacus muntjac), leopards, black-naped hares (Lepus nigricollis) and large Indian civets (Viverra zibetha). It also lists a dozen threatened bird species at the site, including the white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis), saker falcon (Falco cherrug) and spot-bellied eagle-owl (Bubo nipalensis), alongside fishes like the snowtrout in Nagmati River.
Rijal said construction of the dam would cut off traditional wildlife migration routes, while any flooding could push animals toward human settlements, increasing the risk of human-wildlife conflict. He added that the project should incorporate safe ecological corridors to allow free movement, along with shallow spots where animals can drink without the danger of drowning.
The Nagmati Dam’s EIA acknowledges that forest clearance and tree felling for the project “would account for loss of diversity,” while construction activities “will deteriorate existing wildlife habitat” and “affect mobility of wild animals.” It also warns that increased human mobility could heighten the risk of illegal hunting and poaching.
The project, funder the Asian Development Bank (ADB), said it is currently in its preparatory phase, according to an earlier statement sent to Mongabay, and it states that all its investments — including proposed dam developments — undergo detailed studies reviewed by independent experts to ensure sustainability and trust.
The ADB’s 2024 Environmental and Social Framework notes that its projects are designed to “promote conservation of biodiversity and ecological functions.”
An official at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, who did not want to be named so he could speak freely, said that the department has not been approached for expert opinion since the initial phase of the dam’s EIA. The official added that the department is “extremely sensitive” toward the issue pertaining to wildlife, questioning the need for such a dam.
Conservationists Mongabay talked to off the record said that EIAs need far stronger scrutiny, saying they have long been criticized as superficial and flawed. They claim developers and politicians often influence the selection of consulting firms, raising concerns that the assessments may be in favor of project proponents with vested interests.
A 2025 study evaluating the EIA of hydropower plants in Nepal found “strong patterns of incomplete and non-compliance” in such reports. It also underscored low implementation of the proposed mitigation measures and weak government monitoring.
“Our development projects do not seriously evaluate the biodiversity component and prioritize socio-economic benefits,” Paudel said.
“The biological impacts are limited to the checklists in the annex page. The Nagmati Dam is a prime example. We’re now demanding that this issue be taken seriously and the authorities bring forward mitigation plans to address threats to biodiversity,” he said.
Mongabay wrote to ADB in Kathmandu for comments, but it didn’t respond by the time of writing.
Banner image: A Chinese pangolin. Image by Sarita Jnawali of NTNC – Central Zoo via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).
Supreme Court decision on saving Kathmandu rivers stirs up heated reactions
Correction (04/22/26): An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the Indian pangolin’s habitat was also potentially threatened by the proposed dam. However, a pangolin researcher pointed out that Indian pangolins haven’t been recorded in the area. The banner image has also been updated to reflect this fact.
Citations:
Lama, P., Subba, A., Paudel, K., & Khanal, L. (2026). Pangolin Distribution and Predicted Habitat Loss From the Nagmati Dam in Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, Nepal. Ecology and Evolution, 16(4): e73441. doi:10.1002/ece3.73441
Poudyal, L.P., Ghimire, M., Acharya S., Chaudhary H., & Baral, H.S. (2024). Birds of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, Nepal. Nepalese Journal of Zoology, 8(1):29–47. doi:10.3126/njz.v8i1.67110
Poudyal, L.P., Koju, N.P., Bista, M., Thapa, S., Dahal, D.R., Khadka, S., & Pandey, B.P. (2023). Checklist of wild mammals of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, Nepal. Nepalese Journal of Zoology 7(1):48–59. doi:10.3126/njz.v7i1.56310
Paudel, K., Ghimire, E., & Phelps, J. (2025) The pending promises of mitigation measures in Environmental Impact Assessments: A typology and evaluation of Nepal’s hydropower projects. Environ Manage, 75(5):1084-1098. doi:10.1007/s00267-025-02131-3
Credits
