Banke National Park

Banke National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Location	Nepal
Nearest city	Nepalgunj
Coordinates	28°11′28″N 81°54′46″E / 28.1911°N 81.9128°ECoordinates: 28°11′28″N 81°54′46″E / 28.1911°N 81.9128°E
Area	550 km²[1]
Established	12 July 2010[1]
Governing body	Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation

Banke National Park is located in the Mid-Western Region, Nepal and was established in 2010 as Nepal’s tenth national park after its recognition as a "Gift to the Earth".^[1] The protected area covers an area of 550 km² (210 sq mi) with most parts falling on the Churia range. The park is surrounded by a buffer zone of 344 square kilometres (133 sq mi) in the districts of Banke, Salyan and Dang.^[2]

Together with the neighboring Bardia National Park, the coherent protected area of 1,518 km² (586 sq mi) represents the Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU) Bardia-Banke.^[3]

References

1. DNPWC (2010). Banke National Park Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Department of National Parks and Soil Conservation
2. Bhushal, R.P. (2010) Nod to Banke National Park. The Himalayan Times, 13 May 2010
3. Wikramanayake, E.D., Dinerstein, E., Robinson, J.G., Karanth, K.U., Rabinowitz, A., Olson, D., Mathew, T., Hedao, P., Connor, M., Hemley, G., Bolze, D. (1999) Where can tigers live in the future? A framework for identifying high-priority areas for the conservation of tigers in the wild. Pages 255–272 in: Seidensticker, J., Christie, S., Jackson, P. (eds.) Riding the Tiger. Tiger conservation in human-dominated landscapes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. hardback ISBN 0-521-64057-1, paperback ISBN 0-521-64835-1.