Gambolling, swimming and sliding their way around the banks of Nepal’s Lower Karnali Watershed, otters are vital for maintaining the country’s rivers, forests, grasslands and lakes.
While they might look cute, these playful mammals are expert hunters and help keep the populations of fish and shellfish in rivers and lakes under control. But this delicate balance could be under threat, with numbers of vulnerable smooth-coated otters declining due to overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution and demand for their fur.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is now at the halfway point of a three-year project working to reduce these threats, strengthen otter populations and support the 200 households whose livelihoods depend on the Lower Karnali River.
The initiative has already seen one remarkable success story. After 185 years without a recorded sighting in Nepal, scientists have confirmed the presence of another otter species – the Asian small-clawed otter.
Communities leading conservation
“The river has been a way of life for us. We Sonaha live by the river and perish by the river,” explains Amit Sonaha, member of the Sonaha Community. “We have witnessed both the rage and the rewards that the Karnali provides.”
Since ancestral times, the Sonaha and Tharu Indigenous communities have fished the waters of the Lower Karnali Watershed that they share with the otters.
Today, illegal and destructive fishing and extraction of sand, gravel and stone from the river has seen a decline in the fish populations and damaged fish spawning sites, impacting the livelihoods of these Indigenous communities.
WWF is helping to build community stewardship for the conservation of otters and their prey, raising awareness and strengthening livelihoods.
By consulting village chiefs, community forest groups, local government, divisional forest offices and the people who live along the river, WWF has helped to identify priority areas for conservation.
So far, the project has formed 15 Community River Stretch Management Groups to monitor and protect the river from illegal fishing and stone extraction, while 375 local community members have received training on traditional gear, fish breeding seasons and eco-friendly fishing practices.
“I am an otter champion,” says Komal Sonaha. “I now conduct various community-based awareness campaigns on behalf of our river stretch management group.”
Sonaha and Tharu households have also been supported in establishing small businesses that use their local knowledge and are less reliant on the river’s resources, such as vegetable farming, tea shops, handicrafts and duck rearing.
A citizen science programme has now been established along with a ‘Smooth-Coated Otter Identification and Monitoring Protocol’ to help local communities track otter populations.
"My identity from Komal has transitioned to 'Uduwa waali', meaning Otter Lady in our community due to involvement in the otter conservation,” adds Komal. “Our knowledge when it comes to resource use and practices have definitely upscaled.”
A small but mighty return
Progress is underway for an Otter Conservation Action Plan to guide otter conservation efforts in Nepal. This initiative has been further bolstered by a remarkable local discovery.
After 185 years without a recorded sighting, scientists have confirmed the presence of the Asian small-clawed otter, the smallest otter species in the world, in Nepal.
In November 2024, Divisional Forest Officials in Dadeldhura district, found a juvenile small-clawed otter by the confluence of the Rangun and Puntara Rivers. An exciting and hopefully positive sign of things to come.
Main image: the Asian small-clawed otter is the smallest species of otter in the world. Credit: Padam Raj Badu / WWF Nepal
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