The Landscape Patterns of the Giant Panda Protection Area in Sichuan Province and Their Impact on Giant Pandas

Abstract

As the flagship species of biodiversity conservation in China, the giant panda has significant ecological protection value and plays an important demonstrative role for conservation. Sichuan Province has the largest area of giant panda habitat, making its protected areas the most important for the conservation of this species. However, the habitats of the giant panda are shrinking due to human disturbance through land encroachment for agriculture and other forms of resource exploitation. Reducing these pressures requires assessing current land use and the causes of fragmenting giant panda habitats. This paper reports on changes in land-use patterns and socio-economic development in typical counties with giant panda habitats in Sichuan in 2003 and 2015, with a focus on giant panda protection areas and human pressures in the surrounding lands. We found that road construction, industrial infrastructure, and other forms of economic development have led to increases in human populations and fragmentation of the giant panda habitats, such that that the population of this species has been significantly reduced in some counties. Improving the protection of giant panda requires designing regional economic development activities based on scientific principles to provide benefits to both the local people and the giant pandas. For example, when making land use plans, the local government should consider the impact of the development of the communities surrounding the giant panda areas on the giant pandas’ habitat.

A Survey of the Wild Giant Panda Population and Habitat Reflects an Urgent In Situ Conservation Need: A Case of Meigu Dafengding National Nature Reserve

“…Vehicular traffic and pedestrian noise significantly interfered with the habitat and reproduction of giant pandas. The larger the radius of the spread of the interference, the greater the interference with the giant panda habitat and activities [56]. Analysis of the unique characteristics of this study area revealed that the range of frequent activities of giant pandas was restricted to the roadside and surrounding areas in Wahei-Yiziyakou, which has 103 provincial highway crossings.…”

Challenges and Opportunities in Aligning Conservation with Development in China’s National Parks: A Narrative Literature Review

“…Many studies (13 papers) also highlight the park's role in protecting other vulnerable species within its boundaries, such as the red panda and the golden snub-nosed monkey [85][86][87]. Willingness of locals to pay for conservation 5 [87,88,93,94,116] Policy recommendations Restrict grazing, planting, and construction in/around park 19 [86,91,92,95,98,[100][101][102][103][104][106][107][108][109]112,115,117,119,120] Invest in ecotourism and increase tourism regulation 9 [84,85,[88][89][90]92,95,96,113,116] Improve ecological compensation and migration schemes 8 [84,85,[88][89][90]94,96,97,121] Streamline local input in park management 6…”

Spatial-Temporal Evolution and Driving Forces of NDVI in China’s Giant Panda National Park

“…The giant panda is an important national protected animal in China, and changes in its habitat quality have received extensive attention from researchers. Affected by urban and rural construction activities, the fragmentation of giant panda habitats is serious, and the natural and anthropogenic threats to the habitat quality continue to intensify [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. National parks are key areas for strictly protecting biodiversity in various countries [ 4 ], with the purpose of achieving effective ecological protection, rational utilization of resources and sustainable social and economic development [ 5 , 6 ].…”