Anita Shrestha

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Anita specialises in the governance of Red panda conservation and natural habitat protection, sociological perspective of climate change, natural resource management including forestry, red panda, institutional development of a community forest user group, gender and social inclusion.

Anita Shrestha

Dr. Shrestha is Post Doctorate Research Fellow for the Red Panda Nepal Case Study, which focused on:

  • forest governance;
  • ecosystem service and natural capital valuation;
  • improving Nepal’s information base on forests;
  • stakeholder engagement and capacity building; and the
  • development of payments for ecosystems services, benefit sharing and incentives mechanisms for primary forest and habitat conservation.

During the course of the project, several areas of critical corridor habitat were restored, and tens of thousands of native saplings planted. The project has also developed a quality of governance standards for forest projects and programmes associated with Red panda conservation and natural habitat protection, with the long-term aim of developing a certification system and associated labelling scheme to alleviate poverty by developing benefit sharing and incentives development mechanism.

Anita is a post Doctorate Research Fellow at the Kathmandu Forestry College, Kathmandu, Nepal.

The Red Panda Network is a world leader in efforts to protect red pandas and their habitat. It uses an integrated, landscape-level approach to conservation that is built on the support and participation of local communities. Their conservation programs extend to over one million acres of forest and 50% of Nepal’s red panda range.
Red Panda Network logo

Anita's project publications

Red panda in forest - Unsplash

Forest governance for sustainable communities and red panda conservation

17/02/2023
Building the capacity of marginalised groups by increasing their skills and raising awareness about sustainable forest management could have tangible impacts on the ground, including the protection and conservation of Nepal’s unique flora and fauna into an uncertain and difficult future.
Red panda in the forests of Himalaya

Historical trends in and status of red panda research

10/08/2022
The red panda is a unique species known for its distinct biological and ecological characteristics, and its captivating appearance but its future remains uncertain. This study assessed the history of conservation studies over 193 years.