Western visitors often head straight for Nepal’s spectacular mountains, but Madhesh Province on Nepal’s southern plains (‘the Terai’) has its own powerful allure – from intriguing rural communities to remarkable wildlife and important religious shrines that attract around a million Indian pilgrims each year.

Yet behind the beauty lies deep hardship. Although it is Nepal’s most populous province, the people face longstanding social and political discrimination from northern Nepali people. The Madheshi community is excluded from Nepalese society due to ethnic bias, language differences, and internal caste, religious, and gender-based discrimination.

Now, with climate change, the pressure is even greater. Communities that once scraped by are now hit by crop failures, floods, and droughts. Meanwhile, the loss of biodiversity poses a quieter but equally serious threat.