"In Nepal, controversial dam threatens endangered pangolins: Study", 22 April 2026

… 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 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 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…

… 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...

The project, funder the Asian Development Bank (ADB), said it is currently in its preparatory phase,..., and it states that all its investments — including proposed dam developments — undergo detailed studies reviewed by independent experts to ensure sustainability and trust...