worked with communities to remove cattle from the forest and replace them with a smaller number of stall-fed cows, which produce dung for the biogas digesters; provide milk that improves child nutrition; and boost household income through the sale of surplus milk (Oglethorpe, Honzak, & Margoluis, 2008). Yet despite the Khata project's health and conservation successes, forest restoration efforts were at risk because the population continued to increase due to early marriage and childbearing, as well as poor knowledge of family planning and low contraceptive use. On average, women in the Terai are 25 years of age and have three children before they begin to use contraception (CEDPA, 2008). The 2007 Demographic and Health Survey found that 20.9 percent of currently married women (1549) living in the mid-western Terai region, which includes the Khata corridor, have an unmet need for family planning. Root Causes of Biodiversity Loss in Terai Forests Over-harvesting of trees for fuel wood and timber: Increasing population, coupled with the lack of affordable alternative energy technologies, drives demand for fuel wood and thus deforestation. The extremely high dependency on wood for fuel also produces indoor air pollution and respiratory problems. Overgrazing of livestock: Increasing population, combined with decreasing size of land holdings per capita and the continued popularity of raising livestock, will continue to increase grazing's impact on Nepal's landscape. Encroachment and settlement: As the population grows, more forest is cleared for cultivation. The conversion of forests to fields increases soil erosion and flooding. Source: Montayne (2003). Integrating Population and Health Into Forest Management In 2006, USAID selected the Khata project to test whether forest user groups could implement family planning services and education in tandem with conservation, health, and sustainable livelihood activities. USAID observed that user groups were promising platforms for the introduction of PHE services because they offered access to established networks, training programs, and their own sources of funding. In the pilot project, WWF partnered with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency to train field staff and volunteers to deliver family planning services and education. Over a two-year period, John Pielemeier 5 FOCUS on population, environment, and security Khata Corridor Map CHINA NEPAL N SHUKLAPHANTA WILDLIFE RESERVE Basanta Corridor Mahendranagar TAL - NEPAL INDIA Kathmandu Kailali Kanchanpur Dhangadhi BARDIA NATIONAL PARK NEPAL Mahadevpuri Bottleneck Laljhadi Corridor Bardia Khata Corridor WWF PHE Project Sites Gulariya Lamahi Bottleneck Nepalgunj Pokhara Dovan Bottleneck Banke Dang Lamahi Palpa Butwal Narayangadh Kathmandu Nawalparasi Chitwan Makwanpur Legend Protected Area Buffer Zone TAL - Nepal District Boundary Corridors Bottlenecks Restoration Project Site Kapilvastu Rupandehi Hetauda INDIA 45 90 180 Kilometers CHITWAN NATIONAL PARK PARSA WILDLIFE RESERVE Parsa Bara Birganj Rautahat 0 181 staff and volunteers helped the project roll out PHE services to an estimated 22,000 people living in 3,095 households. Activities included: � Teaching illiterate women and girls about family planning, reproductive health, and environmental issues; � Educating youth and adults about safer sex and using condoms to prevent HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancy; � Conducting media campaigns that explain the connections between population, health, and the environment; � Promoting increased energy efficiency in the home; � Improving monitoring and reporting of acute respiratory infection cases among under-five children by female community health volunteers; and � Coordinating with workers at government health centers to assure an adequate supply of family planning products and to establish referral mechanisms for other services. Successes of the PHE Approach The PHE approach has helped transform people's attitudes toward family planning and improve their understanding of its contribution to sustainable livelihoods. Contraceptive use 