Koshi Tappu is the only wildlife reserve in Nepal that is situated in the eastern lowlands. It is also the first Ramsar site of Nepal, which was designated in 1976. The Koshi was made a reserve for conserving the only remaining population of the wild water buffalo, the Arna. The Koshi Tappu, which spreads over 175 square kilometers, covers Saptari, Sunsari and Udayapur districts. The reserve lies in the Sapta Koshi floodplains, with the Koshi River flowing through the middle of the reserve. The river is a good habitat for critically endangered grassland birds as well as wetland migratory birds. Apart from wild animals, the Ganges River dolphin can also be spotted in the Koshi River. In 2018-19, I along with two of my colleagues surveyed the eastern wetlands of Koshi for a year for our master’s thesis under a grant provided by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia and Himalayan Nature. We visited the Koshi in four different seasons. During the survey, we also managed to visit the marketplace and learn about the dependency of the locals on the reserve and wetlands. People in Koshi mostly depend on the reserve for various types of resources, like fish, fodder, seasonal fruits and vegetables. During our study, we saw numerous local methods of fishing in the area. The reserve is rich in ningro, young shoots of the edible fern, which is cooked as a vegetable, and is sold aplenty in the market. Seasonal fruits like custard apple, Chinese date and jungle jalebi are also consumed by the locals from the reserve. The women living in the buffer zone use the reed that grows here for weaving mats and also for fodder, too. It usually takes two days to weave a mat from the reed, which sells for Rs 250 in the local market.  This has definitely improved the livelihood of women in the area. The reserve also allows people to collect the tall ‘khar’ grass from the reserve. The people of the buffer zone are allowed to enter the reserve for a nominal fee and collect the khar grass, which is mostly used to thatch roofs. While the locals benefit from the reserve, they face constant attacks from the wildlife elephant and Arna that enter their fields and villages. There is an electric fence around the reserve, but the elephant manages to get through it and enter the village, damaging crop and property.