Nepal's women of the Terai Arc become forest conservationists – in pictures

In the long, narrow Terai Arc landscape, which spans nearly 20,000 square miles of southern Nepal and northern India, communities depend on the forests for food, water and shelter, as well as firewood and income. This is especially true for women in Nepal, who are increasingly becoming guardians of the environment on which they rely. All photographs by James Morgan for WWF

As the sun rises, a group of women cross a river on their way to undertake conservation work in Mahila Jagaran community forest

The community forest, maintained solely by women, is in the Karnali corridor of the Terai Arc landscape that borders Nepal and India

The women work in community forest user groups, where they learn how to restore overused or otherwise threatened forests, and also sustainably harvest wood to use in their homes or to sell in markets

Communities depend on the forest for food, water and shelter, as well as firewood and income. This is especially true for women, who dominate rural society, as many men travel abroad to find work

Conservation is a high priority for Nepal’s government, which has offered its people the opportunity to lead and carry out much of its environmental work on the ground. In the Terai Arc, the community has been given the right to restore and manage several tranches of government-owned forest land – about 35% of the population has chosen to be involved

For the past 14 years, Devi, 35, has been a community health volunteer. She understands the connection between health and conservation. “If people are not healthy, they won’t have energy for things like protecting the environment,” she says. And she knows that without conservation, the natural resources they rely on will disappear

As secretary of the Gauri Mahila community forest user group in the Khata corridor of the Terai Arc, Devi helps other women to be good stewards of the land. “I do not get money for doing this, but it gives me satisfaction,” she says. “I know people in my village appreciate it.”

At meetings in her village, Devi teaches women about the nutritional and environmental advantages of organic agriculture

Many women in Nepal are effectively single parents because their husbands have had to emigrate to find work, so growing their own food saves them much time and energy

The health issues that community health volunteers deal with are basic, yet critical. Much time is spent teaching people about the importance of hygiene