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Ways the Giant Panda Is Being Protected

A species found only in China, panda bears have been the focus of intense conservation efforts. In the 1980s, the future of this iconic species seemed grim. Twenty years later, reports from Panda 2000, a summit of leaders in panda conservation from across the globe, were more optimistic for this critically endangered species. Even today, the most optimistic counts put wild panda populations at less than 3,000. Loss and fragmentation of habitat continue to call into question the long-term survival prospects for this beloved animal.

Reserve System
- Panda habitat is protected in a series of fragmented reserves.
  
  In 1992, the Chinese Ministry of Forestry and the World Wildlife Fund implemented the "National Conservation Management Plan for the Giant Panda and Its Habitat," outlining conservation initiatives for the species. A primary threat then, and now, is destruction and fragmentation of the panda's habitat. Today, more than 50 percent of the panda's habitat has been protected via a system of 40 nature reserves. For wild populations to succeed and grow, more of the remaining 50 percent must be protected. It's not enough to create and protect isolated reserves; pandas must have corridors by which they can move between these fragments of habitat so as to maintain genetic health and avert extinction due to inbreeding.
Forest Conservation
- Deforestation of suitable panda habitat greatly inhibits recovery of the species.
  
  Years of unchecked logging have resulted in tremendous soil erosion and perpetual flooding in many areas throughout China. In 1998, devastating flooding destroyed nearly 21 million hectares of panda habitat. In response to this catastrophe, China implemented the "Natural Forest Conservation Program" aimed at increasing forest cover in the Yangtze, Yellow and Songhuajiang river basins. Under this program, a logging ban went into effect, helping to protect the remaining forests throughout the panda's range. A complementary policy -- "Grain-to-Green" -- went into effect in 2000, restoring cultivated, steep hillsides to forests and grasslands. Communities in affected areas, such as Sichuan, receive subsidies and seedlings for planting forests. Both programs have the ability to move wild panda conservation beyond the reserve system to broader, landscape-scale conservation.
Captive Breeding
- The Wolong Panda Center nursery has pioneered methods of raising newborn pandas, even twins.
  
  In the 1980s, a major effort was put forth to breed pandas in captivity. Because females only ovulate once per year, breeding captive pandas proved difficult. In 1986, the first successful captive panda birth was recorded at the Wolong Panda Center in the Sichuan Province. By 2007, the Center had become the premier panda-breeding facility in the world, with more than 124 giant pandas born at the facility. To date, captive animals have not been released into the wild, due in part to lack of suitable release sites. The animals can only be released in areas of suitable habitat with few or no wild pandas, to prevent transmission of disease and disruption of wild populations. Experimental tests of captive releases are currently underway.
Poaching Control and Monitoring
- Poaching of pandas is no longer a significant threat to the species. However, pandas are lost each year to other forms of illegal poaching, particularly snares and traps set for musk deer. Additionally, the overharvesting of herbs for traditional Chinese medicine have harmed panda bear habitat, particularly in the Upper Yangtze Region, a wild panda stronghold where 75 percent of these plants grow. To safeguard the panda, a number of organizations have instituted monitoring and patrolling activities, including World Wildlife Fund's Panda Program, which is currently patrolling 16 of the panda reserves.

Animals & Science