Assessing the Effectiveness of China’s Panda Protection System

Abstract

Highlights d We evaluate whether China's protected area system is working to conserve pandas d Panda habitat is better protected inside reserves than outside reserves d Panda habitat is improving through time, although some threats have increased d High-performing reserves where panda numbers are increasing have better habitat

Conservation: Guarding Panda Land

“…The national survey of giant pandas, which happens every ten years since 1974, is the most intensive and extensive survey for any species [10]. The most recent fourth national survey has employed more than 2000 personnel using about three years to survey every 2 km 2 grid for more than 25,000 km 2 of the existing and potential panda habitat, regardless of its protection status [3].…”

“…The most recent fourth national survey has employed more than 2000 personnel using about three years to survey every 2 km 2 grid for more than 25,000 km 2 of the existing and potential panda habitat, regardless of its protection status [3]. Wei and colleagues [10] first used these data to examine whether the nature reserve system reduced human disturbances and what factors contributed to the increasing population of giant pandas. The nature reserve system was at the core of the protected area network, which is still the strictest type of protected area.…”

“…Giant pandas are sensitive to human disturbance, such as logging, livestock grazing or human residence, and would avoid such areas [12,13]. To avoid the bias caused by the panda habitat preference, Wei and colleagues [10] used randomly distributed control plots to test whether areas inside nature reserves had a lower level of disturbance. They find that panda reserves are effective in reducing human disturbance.…”

“…Does a big empty forest mean a conservation success? In this issue of Current Biology, two new studies by Wei Wei, Zejun Zhang and colleagues [10] and by Biao Yang, Yu Xu and colleagues [11] take advantage of data from national giant panda surveys to answer the longstanding questions: are existing panda protected areas effective and how can we do better?…”

Review on parasites of wild and captive giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): Diversity, disease and conservation impact

“…As reported in 2015, there are only 1864 wild giant pandas inhabit in the fragmented mountain ranges of Southwest China ( Zhou et al, 2016 ). To protect this species, 67 nature reserves have been established in China ( Kang and Li, 2018 ; Wei et al, 2020 ). Giant pandas have mainly been preserved in natural reserves, breeding bases, and zoological gardens in China ( Zhu et al, 2013 ).…”