Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal
These tropical valleys are enclosed by the Himalayan foothills, viz the Mahabharat Range and the Sivalik Hills farther south.
[6] In the past, the inner and outer Terai were a formidable barrier between Nepal and potential invaders from India because marshes and forests were infested by anopheline mosquitos that transmitted virulent strains of malaria, especially during the hot spring and rainy summer monsoon.
[7] After the unification of Nepal in the late 1760s, the rulers granted large areas of fertiIe land and forest resources to members of the royal family, officials, priests and selected groups of the society.
[7] Tharu people have been living in the Terai for many centuries, and reputedly had an innate resistance to malaria.
In 1970, the king granted land to loyal ex-army personnel in the districts of Jhapa, Sunsari, Rupandehi and Banke, where seven colonies were developed for resettling about 7,000 people.
They acquired property rights over uncultivated forest and waste land, thus accelerating the deforestation process in the Terai.
[8] The well-meaning malaria eradication campaign has had unexpected consequences by opening up the Terai region to human settlement.
[14] The frequency and severity of flooding in the Gangetic plain and Bangladesh has steadily increased in recent years.
Click on the terrain and satellite imagery links to see vegetation, rivers, topography, roads and towns.
[20] Imagery of Surkhet (S): terrain satellite Both valleys are located in the Dang Deukhuri District of the Rapti Zone in mid-western Nepal.
Its fauna comprises Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, great one-horned rhinos, wild Asian elephant, gaur, golden monitor lizard, gharial and marsh crocodile.
This valley lies between the Mahabharat Range to the north and the Sivalik Hills to the south, with an average elevation of about 430 m (1,410 ft).
It was designated the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in 1976, and is home to the last remaining population of wild Asian water buffalo in Nepal.
The reserve is mostly wetlands, subject to seasonal flooding, but also includes some grasslands and small patches of riverine forest.
