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Kennedy Briggs

Mr. Phillips

English III Honors

8 May 2017

Project Panda

Are pandas on the verge of extinction? What can we do to help them? When the

general population thinks about pandas, their first thought is that they are endangered.

However, pandas in China have been thriving ever since 1994 due to recent changes

over the years to save their sacred animal. Since the Chinese government has been

creating new conservation programs for pandas over the past decades, they are no

longer endangered and are increasing in numbers every year. Although the number of

pandas is still not sustainable, the progress the country has made over the last decade

has been tremendous.

Many decades ago pandas were on the endangered species list. In the 1960s,

four panda reserves were established in China and a law was established prohibiting

any commercial or recreational hunting. The Chinese soon began to realize the

importance of the panda and all the harm they have been causing to their environment.

A year later, the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) was founded as an international

non-governmental organization, working on preserving nature and reducing the human

footprint on the environment. In the 1970s, the WWF signed an agreement with China to

work on the conservation of the panda population (Mountlfort). This was the first

international organization to associate with the Chinese government. Then in the 1980s,

the program started to take off. Since its launch, 200 countries have started their own
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conservation efforts because they were inspired and appreciated what the WWF was

trying to accomplish. Later, the program put endangered species on postal stamps and

raised more than $13 million dollars (Mountlfort). In the 1990s, they wanted to revise

their mission, and expand to three main categories: the preservation of biological

diversity, promoting the concept of sustainable resources, and reducing wasteful

consumption and pollution (Mountlfort). With these new categories in place, they could

accomplish their goals, and become a thriving organization in the future.

Today the WWF has helped the population be at an all time high. According to

the article Chinas Latest Survey Finds Increase in Wild Giant Pandas, the panda

population has grown by 268 to a total of 1,864 since the last survey in 2014

(Borenstein). While this is still a low number, there is still hope to increase the

population even more in the future. Although there are traditional threats to pandas like

poaching, some of the larger-scale disturbances include mining, hydropower, and

tourism. Fortunately, these major threats have significantly decreased in the recent

years. After many years of conservation efforts, an international group has taken the

panda off the endangered species list. They have expanded poaching bans and forest

reserves. The population is stable at the moment, but scientists do see a decrease in

bamboo, which could lead to another decline in 80 years (Shih). The WWF has been in

full swing these past couple years to keep the pandas from extinction while trying to

keep the population is steady. The Chinese have also been supportive of the WWF, and

want try and fix the problems they have caused.

For many decades, the panda has been a huge iconic symbol for China. Since

pandas are Chinas national treasure the Chinese government has decided to relocate
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around 200,000 people so they can build the world's largest sanctuary. The reserve will

be 10,476 square miles, and will benefit an additional 8,000 species of both plant and

animal (McHugh). Also, the reserve will span into three Chinese provinces where most

pandas live: Gansu, Shaanxi, and Sichuan. The people living in these areas pose a

threat to the bamboo and other significant factors that pandas need to survive

(Siddique). Grown pandas eat up to 40 pounds of bamboo a day, and with the limited

amount of food supply they have, this cannot pass unnoticed by the Chinese

government.

China has many reasons for building this large sanctuary for the pandas. Over

the decades, pandas have suffered major habitat loss due to habitat destruction, natural

disasters, climate change, and other smaller causes. As the human population requires

a higher demand for space, the panda habitat gets taken over by commercial

development, and forces them into smaller and less liveable areas. With the massive

reserve coming in, all pandas will be contained together in the three provinces, which

should improve the population more quickly (Karimi). This benefit will be the biggest

move in history made in an attempt to save the pandas yet. To the Chinese people the

panda is a symbol of their country. They want to keep the panda from extinction, so

some have agreed to move from their homes for the animal. Hou Rong, the director of a

research base for pandas says, It will be a haven for biodiversity and provide protection

for the whole ecological system. Although their primary effort for this sanctuary is for

the panda, it also helps to preserve the whole ecosystem contained in the area.

Some people have argued that it is unfair to be forced to move out of their homes

for pandas. Xinhua Zeng is one of the two hundred thousand to be moved out of their
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home for the new panda sanctuary. He has a wife and two daughters who are

devastated by the news, and now have to leave friends and family. Reporter and

translator Charlot Jehu interviews Xinhua Zeng who says, I feel like I have been

betrayed. The house my family and I live in has been passed down for generations. This

is unfair and heartbreaking to the hundreds of thousands in the same situation as us.

We all deserve a voice (Linder). Even though this would be a tragic event to go

through, these three main provinces knew eventually something would come from the

damage they have caused.

Most people do agree to the terms, and realize the pain they have inflicted on the

pandas over the generations. Pandas play a crucial role in the bamboo forest because

they spread seeds to help vegetation grow (Phillip). By saving the pandas we are also

saving the thousands of species that share their ecosystem. Keeping the pandas

habitat healthy is also important for the surrounding communities because it provides

various fuels and medicines for China and other countries around the world. The

mountain ranges formed in these habitats are homes to millions of people that survive

from the critical basins. Many economic benefits come from the basins including

tourism, fishery, transport, and water resources. Chinas population has become

unaware to the environmental issue with pollution and habitat destruction. It is only fair if

they take the consequences and be held accountable for their cultural icon.

Because Chinas development has already caused so much harm to the pandas,

it is important that with the new sanctuary being built, and that they continue to work to

preserve the new panda population. During the next decade, WWF panda conservation

strategy will continue to improve habitats that balance conservation with local
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development. The WWF will work together with the Chinese government and the public

to sustain the habitats and benefit the local communities. This development will also

help out the species that the panda coexsists with, such as golden monkey and crested

ibis. Also, the Chinese government has launched a new program where anyone can go

and learn how to care for these pandas and help assist them. George B Schaller, of the

Wildlife Conservation Society says, The panda can and will endure as a symbol for our

environment and wonder of evolution according to (Smith). The time has come for

China to start making real changes to keep improving the panda population.
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Works Cited

Borenstein, Henao. China's Latest Survey Finds Increase in Wild Giant Pandas. AP

Top News Package, Associated Press DBA Press Association, 02/28/2017.

EBSCOhost

Karimi, Faith. "China Plans Massive Reserve for Giant Pandas." CNN. Cable News

Network, 01 Apr. 2017. Web. 07 May 2017.

Linder, Alex. "172,000 Humans Will Be Relocated to Make Way for Giant National

Panda Park in Western China." Shanghaiist. N.p., 10 Mar. 2017. Web. 07 May

2017.

McHugh, Jess. "Pandas in China Are About to Get a Sanctuary so Big, It's Displacing

200,000 Humans." Travel + Leisure, March 13, 2017. Web. 07 May 2017.

Mountlfort, Guy. "50 Years of Environmental Conservation." WWF, 16 July 2016.

Web. 07 May 2017.

Phillip, Jim. "Building a Future in Which Humans Live in Harmony with Nature." WWF,

n.d. Web. 07 May 2017.

Rong, Hou. "Saving China's Pandas." | Al Jazeera, n.d. Web. 07 May 2017.

Shih, Afrai. "Panda Reserves." Pandas International. 27 Jan. 2017. Web. 07 May 2017.

Siddique, Haroon. "China to Create 'giant' Giant Panda Reserve to Boost Wild

Population."The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 31 Mar. 2017. Web. 07

May 2017.

Smith, K. "The future of panda conservation." WWF, 8 Feb. 2017. Web. 07 May 2017.