Hope Giant Panda Will Make it Well Into New Millennium
12/19/99
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Title: Panda's Passport to the Millennium
Source: WWF Press Release
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: December 19, 1999
As 1999 draws to a close, work being done to conserve the Giant Panda by the
Chinese government and conservation organizations is having significant
success. Fears that the panda would not survive long into the new millennium
are disappearing. Recent progress in conservation means that for the first
time in twenty years of working in China, WWF, the international conservation
organization, is confident that the panda can survive in the wild.
Until recently, one of the major threats to the survival of the Giant Panda
was the destruction of its forest habitat. The Giant Panda lives in one of the
world's fastest-growing and most populated regions. The forests where it makes
its home were threatened by intense commercial exploitation. In Sichuan
Province alone, the panda's habitat shrank 50% between 1974 and 1989. However,
a logging ban put in place last year by the Chinese government has now greatly
reduced the greatest threat to the panda's survival.
"This policy had a very positive impact on panda conservation," said Dr. Lu
Zhi, Programme Officer at WWF's China office. "So there is good enough reason
to say that in the next century if we leave them alone, if we leave them
enough habitat, the species should survive".
In another positive development for the long-term survival of the panda, the
Chinese government is working to create 'green corridors' that will link
currently separate areas of panda habitat. Pandas eat between 15 and 38
kilograms of bamboo per day. In order to survive they need constant access to
good feeding areas. Fragmentation of panda habitat due to road-building,
logging and expansion of agriculture has prevented pandas from migrating to
new areas where bamboo is plentiful. It also creates a danger of inbreeding
among isolated populations that become more vulnerable to localized threats
such as forest fire or bamboo die-offs. The creation of 'green corridors' will
alleviate these problems.
In order to reduce threats to the Giant Panda even further, WWF is working
with the staff of panda reserves to increase the effectiveness of anti-
poaching patrols and reserve management. It is also working with local
government to ensure that local people affected by the logging ban have
alternative sources of income, so that they do not resort to poaching or
illegal logging. Public awareness of the importance of environmental
protection has increased dramatically in China in recent years, and numerous
non-governmental groups have also become involved in environmental awareness
and education.
Although conservation efforts still have a long way to go, WWF is more
optimistic than ever before about the panda's prospects. "After two decades of
learning in panda conservation, we have moved from the worries about the
extinction of the species to the confidence that we are probably able to save
the species," added Dr. Lu Zhi. "The next century is going to be full of
hope."
For more information:
Kyla Evans: tel: +41 22 364 95 50, email: kevans@wwfnet.org
A Video News Release 'Panda's Passport to the Millennium' containing new
footage of a panda cub in the Qinling Mountains, interviews with Dr. Lu Zhi,
and others is available from Marc Dehond: tel: + 41 22 364 95 61, email:
mdehond@wwfnet.org