2026International · Whitley Fund for Nature
Survivor of the Lost World — Saving the Himalayan Salamander and its Wetlands
Supported byWhitley Award, The Whitley Fund for Nature
Principal InvestigatorDr. Barkha Subba (Executive Member & Adviser, FOSEP)
ScopeTransboundary — India, Nepal & Bhutan
FocusSeven critical salamander breeding sites
Led by Dr. Barkha Subba, this is the first coordinated grassroots effort to secure the future of the Himalayan salamander in Darjeeling — combining habitat restoration, invasive-species removal, disease screening for chytrid fungal infection, and community programmes that promote sustainable land use and eco-friendly tourism.
The work concentrates on seven critical breeding sites of this rare, evolutionarily distinct amphibian — Margaret's Hope, Nakhapani, the Namthing Biodiversity Heritage Site, Majhidura, Mirik, and two Pokhriabong sites. Of roughly 30 known breeding sites in the area, many lie outside protected areas and face wetland loss, unregulated tourism, and tea-garden diversification.
The ultimate goal is a transboundary framework for wetland protection that extends into Nepal and Bhutan — built through partnerships with local communities, tea-estate managers, and government agencies.
2023 – 2024National · The Nature Conservancy
Pilot Study for Long-Term Ecological Restoration and Monitoring in Darjeeling Hills — Nature-based Solutions to Climate Change
StartedNovember 2023
Funding partnerThe Nature Conservancy (TNC)
Principal InvestigatorDr. Barkha Subba
Research teamRiza Chettri, Mukul Gurung, Deoasish Thapa
The biodiversity-rich Eastern Himalayan region of Darjeeling is home to extensive tea agroecosystems regularly used by native fauna, and sits within both the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot and the transboundary Kangchenjunga Conservation Landscape. What sets Darjeeling apart is the presence of extensive tea gardens and associated agroecosystems in close proximity to protected areas, settlements, and community-managed forests.
Both tea-garden and community forests face land-use change, fragmentation, and overexploitation — and with tea growers increasingly transitioning to organic, environment-friendly methods, there is a timely opportunity to build a coalition for forest restoration. Restoring forest fragments here can strengthen transboundary conservation and protect the corridors that keep protected areas and adjoining forest patches functioning.
Toward that goal, the project runs a reconnaissance survey to identify suitable eco-restoration sites in Darjeeling's tea-garden forest areas — a crucial first step whose outcomes will guide the selection and prioritisation of long-term restoration sites and a strategic framework for implementation.