November 21, 2025
Kathmandu, Nepal (Nov. 21, 2025) – The UK government has joined hands with Conservation International to deliver the innovative Mountains to Mangroves Atlas, a first of its kind digital map that will provide a complete picture of where nature protection and restoration can most benefit the people and landscapes across the Eastern Himalayas – the world’s most populated biodiversity hotspot.
With financial support from the UK’s flagship regional programme called Climate Action for a Resilient Asia (CARA), the digital Atlas will combine satellite imagery, hydrological modelling, biodiversity data, and community knowledge into an open-source platform.
Once completed in 2026, the Atlas will be publicly accessible as an interactive, open-source, digital tool to help governments, communities, and investors target nature conservation efforts where it will have the most impact – from the peaks of Nepal and Bhutan to the mangrove deltas of Bangladesh and India. The project will also support the design of new blended nature finance opportunities to scale nature-based solutions across the region.
“The UK is proud to partner with Conservation International for an initiative that will help unlock far larger flows of public and private investment in nature-based solutions across one of the world's most climate-vulnerable regions,” said Rob Fenn, British Ambassador to Nepal.
“Effective climate action needs good data. Which is why we are backing solutions that will equip governments and communities across the Eastern Himalayas with the evidence they need to make smart decisions about where nature restoration can deliver the greatest returns – for water security, flood resilience, biodiversity, and the livelihoods of over a billion people.”
The Atlas is a key initiative of Mountains to Mangroves, Conservation International’s partnership with the people of the Eastern Himalayas to deliver an urgent response to climate change and nature loss in the region. Home to 12% of the world’s biodiversity, the world’s tallest mountains, mightiest rivers, and largest mangrove ecosystem, the Eastern Himalayas face severe threats from glacial melt, forest degradation, and climate vulnerability.
“The Eastern Himalayas is home to extraordinary biodiversity, and millions of people depend on its natural systems for their livelihoods. It’s one of the world’s most critical regions for demonstrating how growing communities can work with nature rather than against it,” said Saurav Malhotra, Founding Managing Director of Mountains to Mangroves at Conservation International. “The Atlas introduces a powerful new way to integrate data on carbon, biodiversity, water, and community needs – mapping where restoration and conservation can deliver the greatest impact.”
Malhotra added: “The Atlas is the bridge between ambition and action – a tool designed to help realize the Mountains to Mangroves vision of restoring and protecting over one million hectares while strengthening the resilience of the people who depend on these landscapes. By combining geospatial modelling with local expertise, it will guide priority setting, inform clear plans, identify the right partnerships, and connect them with innovative blended finance solutions that can turn this vision into reality.”
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About Conservation International: Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through Science, policy, fieldwork, and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, for biodiversity and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together. Go to Conservation.org for more, and follow our work on Conservation News, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
About Mountains to Mangroves: Mountains to Mangroves is an ambitious partnership, led by the people of the Eastern Himalayas and catalyzed by Conservation International, to protect and restore the connected ecosystems of Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal in response to the shared challenges to climate change and biodiversity loss. The initiative seeks to mobilize transformative capital from public, private, and philanthropic funding to scale forest restoration through nature-based solutions and innovative finance. Together, the partners aim to plant one billion trees and restore one million hectares of land – from the mountains to mangroves. This living corridor supports 12% of the planet’s biodiversity and sustains the lives and livelihoods of more than one billion people. Visit Conservation.org/MTM to learn more
About UK International Development: This project is supported by the UK government through its Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Funding for the Mountains to Mangroves Atlas is provided through Climate Action for a Resilient Asia (CARA), the UK’s flagship regional programme to build climate resilience across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific islands.