Himalyan monal
In addition to climate change, land cover changes also affect many protected species globally ( Thuiller, 2003 Jetz et al., 2007 Hofmeister et al., 2010 Grimmett et al., 2016). A study has revealed that species habitats are gradually migrating northward due to in the rising temperatures in Nepal ( Karki et al., 2009). This global increase in temperature will obviously have impacts on many wild species of the Nepal Himalayas. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reported that the global temperature is likely to increase by about 1.5☌ between 20 ( IPCC, 2018). These expected changes indicate increasing risk for Himalayan Monal due to a decline in its suitable habitat area. The results of this study show that the highly suitable habitat of Himalayan Monal presently occupies around 749 km 2 within the northern, eastern and western parts, particularly protected areas such as Langtang National Park, Manaslu Conservation Area and Annapurna Conservation Area, while it is likely to decrease to 561 km 2 by 2050, primarily in the northern and northwestern parts (i.e., Chhyo, Tatopani, Humde and Chame). This study further assessed the present and future habitat and distribution of the Himalayan Monal in the context of climate and land cover changes. Based on the maximum entropy (Ma圎nt) model, coupled with bioclimatic layers, land cover and DEM data, the impacts of environmental factors on habitat suitability of Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus), a national bird of Nepal, was quantified. However, due to changes in climate and land cover, the habitats of many protected species are at risk.
Gandaki River Basin (GRB) is part of the central Himalayan region, which provides habitat for numerous wild species.