Local unit · Banke district · Lumbini Province
Rapti Sonari: land cover and map
Forest land is the largest land cover in Rapti Sonari, at 82.0% of its area. Forest covers 82.0% (more than the Banke district average of 61.0%), farmland 7.7%, rangeland 6.1%, built-up land 1.5%, bare land, rock and snow 1.2% and water 1.5%.
Area
1,041 km²
Local unit, Banke district
Forest (2025)
82.0%
26th of 775 local units
Built-up (2025)
1.5%
+0.8 points since 2017
Land cover of Rapti Sonari in 2025
Show the numbers
| Class | 2017 (%) | 2025 (%) | Change (points) | Area 2025 (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urban land | 0.6 | 1.5 | +0.8 | 15.2 |
| Agriculture land | 8.1 | 7.7 | −0.4 | 80.0 |
| Rangeland | 13.6 | 6.1 | −7.5 | 63.6 |
| Forest land | 74.5 | 82.0 | +7.6 | 854.0 |
| Water | 1.6 | 1.5 | −0.1 | 15.4 |
| Barren land | 1.5 | 1.2 | −0.3 | 12.7 |
Impact Observatory / Esri 10 m annual land-cover map, translated to the paper's seven classes and clipped to the boundary of Rapti Sonari (summarised at 14 m).
How Rapti Sonari changed from 2017 to 2025
2017 (compare with 2025 above):
Forest land +7.6 percentage points (+78.90 km²); Rangeland −7.5 percentage points (−78.38 km²); Urban land +0.8 percentage points (+8.54 km²).
Other local units in Banke district
Questions about Rapti Sonari
- What is the forest cover of Rapti Sonari?
- Forest covers about 82.0% of Rapti Sonari (854 km²) in the 2025 10 m land-cover map, more than the Banke district average of 61.0%.
- How much of Rapti Sonari is built-up?
- Built-up land covers 1.5% (15.2 km²), +0.8 percentage points since 2017. Rapti Sonari ranks 460th of 775 local units in Nepal for built-up share.
- Where is Rapti Sonari?
- Rapti Sonari is a local unit (municipality or rural municipality) in Banke district, Lumbini Province, Nepal, covering 1,041 km².
Source: Impact Observatory / Esri 10 m land cover (CC BY 4.0); boundaries: Survey Department of Nepal via OCHA.