nt, and greater one-horned rhinoceros. Seventy-five percent of lowland Nepal's remaining forests are in the Terai (EOE, 2007). But this unique biodiversity is under threat: A recent study examining the causes of biodiversity loss in the Terai forests concluded that population growth was the most serious factor (Montayne, 2003). To stem these losses, Nepal was one of the first developing countries to adopt community forest management, which promotes better management by shifting control of forests from the government to the local communities that use them. Community groups of forest users charge membership fees, levy fines, and sell non-timber forest products in order to finance their operating budgets and fund development projects. Thirteen thousand user groups, which manage 1.6 million hectares of forest area across the country, have helped reduce the deforestation rate in Nepal by 3.7�5.0 percent a year (USAID, 2006). In parts of the Terai where forests have regenerated and wildlife has returned, community members have developed alternative incomes through tourism (� Judy Oglethorpe/ WWF-US). 2 Lessons From the First Generation of Integrated Population, Health, and Environment Projects Issue 18 March 2009 Forests for the Future FOCUS Online www.wilsoncenter.org/ecspfocus Livelihoods Outcomes: Study and Analysis of Changes in the Livelihoods of Bottleneck-Level Community Forest Users, a WWF report, explores livelihood gains among residents of the Terai Arc Landscape: http://assets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_livelihood_booklet_final__july8_08.pdf Detailed maps of the Terai Arc Landscape project, other WWF-supported projects in Nepal, and protected areas around the country can be downloaded from WWF: http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/asia_pacific/where/nepal/news/ maps_nepal/index.cfm The Root Causes of Biodiversity Loss in the Terai Arc Landscape: An Exploration of Factors Affecting Biodiversity Loss and the Relationship to Livelihoods, by Dawn Montayne: http://assets.panda.org/downloads/finalrootcausesreportteraiarc1.pdf Dung from stall-fed cattle is fed into the biodigester, and the resulting biogas provides clean cooking fuel, which reduces the incidence of acute respiratory infection in women and children, as well as decreases forest degradation and saves women time and work (� Judy Oglethorpe/WWF-US). At a March 2009 meeting at the Woodrow Wilson Center, Jon Miceler discussed WWF's population, health, and environment program in the Terai Arc Landscape, along with Rishi Bastakoti of Resource Identification and Management Society Nepal: http://tinyurl.com/nepalevent Richard Matthew and Bishnu Raj Upreti explore the links between population growth, environmental degradation, and violent conflict in "Environmental Change and Demographic Change in Nepal: Underlying Conditions Contributing to a Decade of Insurgency" in ECSP Report 11. http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/Nepal_Env_Stress&Demo_Change.pdf John Pielemeier 3 FOCUS on population, environment, and security "Now we work hard to conserve forest resources and are encouraging everyone to use alternative energy and family planning so there will be forest left for future generations." � Krishna Pariyar Combining Conservation and Health in the Khata Corridor The Terai's Khata corridor, which links Bardia National Park in Nepal with India's Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, is a vital conduit for rhinoceroses, tigers, and elephants. It is also home to almost 25,000 people from indigenous groups, including the Tharu, whose high population growth and large average household size (7.1) have increased pressure on the forest (WWF-Nepal, 2006).* Communities in the corridor area are unusually poor; the average per capita annual income is under US$50, well below the national average of US$235 (WWF-Nepal, 2008). Diseases such as acute respiratory infections, pneumonia, typhoid, and tuberculosis are common. Poverty drives many men and women to travel to India for seasonal work; these migrant laborers are more susceptible to sexually transmitted infections (including HI