Protect the pandas! At the time of the fourth survey, the wild population was nearly 1,900

　　The giant panda is a "national treasure" of the Chinese people and a flagship species of rare wild animals in the world, which is deeply loved by people around the world.

　　This year, the China Wildlife Conservation Association has launched a new round of international cooperation in the conservation of giant pandas with Madrid Zoo in Spain and San Diego Zoo in United States, and will also carry out new cooperation with Washington National Zoo in United States, Adelaide Zoo in Australia and Schönbrunn Palace Zoo in Austria.

　　How effective is giant panda conservation so far? Why do you want to cooperate in the international conservation of giant pandas? What's next? On October 14, the reporter interviewed the relevant person in charge of the China Wildlife Conservation Association, the relevant person in charge of the National Park Research Institute and industry experts on these social concerns.

　　Multiple measures have been taken to promote the steady growth of the giant panda population in the wild

　　The quality of habitat is directly related to the survival and reproduction of giant pandas in the wild. Over the years, the mainland has continuously strengthened the protection of wild populations and habitats of giant pandas through the vigorous implementation of key ecological projects such as the protection of natural forests, the return of farmland to forests and grasslands, the protection of wild animals and plants, and the construction of nature reserves.

　　Since the 60s of the 20th century, the mainland has successively established 67 nature reserves with giant pandas and their habitats as the main protection objects. In October 2021, the mainland officially established the Giant Panda National Park in the main habitats of giant pandas in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces, further improving the connectivity, coordination and integrity of giant panda habitats. The protected area of giant panda habitat has increased from 1.39 million hectares to 2.58 million hectares, effectively maintaining the safety and sustainable development of the giant panda population in the wild.

　　Xu Weihua, deputy director of the National Park Research Institute, said that there are about 1,340 wild giant pandas in the Giant Panda National Park, and more than 8,000 species of associated wild animals and plants, such as the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey, snow leopard, dove tree and yew, are protected by umbrellas. Wild giant pandas frequently appear in infrared camera images, reflecting the remarkable results of ecological protection and restoration of giant panda habitats.

　　At the same time, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration has gathered a national team of outstanding giant panda scientific research led by academicians to vigorously promote the establishment of a national key laboratory for the protection of giant pandas and other endangered animals, and strive to provide scientific and technological support for the expansion of giant panda populations in the wild.

　　"In 2003, the mainland launched captive giant panda rewilding training and reintroduction research, and successively released 12 captive giant pandas into the wild after rewilding training, and 10 are still alive." Wei Rongping, senior engineer of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, said that in this process, a set of effective technical systems for the rewilding training and release of giant pandas has been established, which provides a scientific and effective new way to solve the inbreeding problems faced by the giant panda population and promote the recovery and sustainable development of the small giant panda population in the wild.

　　Driven by strong measures, the wild population of giant pandas on the mainland has grown from about 1,100 in the 80s of the 20th century to nearly 1,900 at the time of the fourth national giant panda survey.

　　Strengthen foreign exchanges and cooperation to promote the conservation of rare species such as giant pandas

　　"The giant panda is a 'friendship messenger' loved by people all over the world, and it is also a beautiful business card to show the effectiveness of the conservation of rare species in the mainland." The relevant person in charge of the China Wildlife Conservation Association said.

　　He told reporters that since 1994, the mainland has followed the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and carried out international cooperation in the conservation of giant pandas with relevant foreign institutions in the form of long-term cooperative research. Over the years, the international partners of the giant panda have jointly overcome a series of technical problems in the fields of wild conservation, breeding and rearing, disease prevention and control, disease treatment, genetic protection, and rewilding, and have published a large number of papers and books with great scientific research value.

　　Li Desheng, chief expert of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, said that over the years, Chinese and foreign researchers have jointly carried out various explorations such as improving the nutritional level of giant pandas and training techniques for routine medical testing of giant pandas in a non-anesthetic state, which has promoted the continuous progress of giant panda conservation.

　　"The 'trilemma' of artificial breeding of giant pandas seriously restricted the development of captive populations in the early stage of research. In order to find the most suitable formula milk, feeding bottles and pacifiers for young giant pandas, we have repeatedly exchanged and discussed with foreign nutrition and childcare experts, and jointly carried out dozens of experiments. Li Desheng remembers it vividly.

　　Li Sheng, a researcher at Peking University's School of Life Sciences, said that in the mid-to-late 90s of the 20th century to the early 21st century, a critical stage of China's giant panda conservation and development, the introduction of new technologies and new concepts has provided a strong guarantee for the improvement of the conservation capacity of protected areas in the giant panda distribution area and the in-depth promotion of related field scientific research.

　　"The impact of these international collaborations is not limited to the giant panda, but also contributes positively to wildlife conservation research on a larger scale. Many domestic students and researchers who participated in the cooperation project have become well-known experts in related fields. He said.

　　It is understood that the mainland has carried out cooperative research on giant panda conservation with 26 institutions in 20 countries, and during the cooperation period, 41 litters and 68 cubs of giant pandas have been successfully bred, and the number of captivity in the world has reached 728.

　　Focus on key technologies to jointly enhance biodiversity conservation capabilities

　　It is understood that the new round of international cooperation on giant pandas will focus on the prevention and control of major diseases of giant pandas, the protection of giant panda habitats and wild populations, improve the ability of investigation and monitoring, and help the construction of China's giant panda national parks. Actively build an international academic exchange platform to promote scientific research and conservation cooperation and exchanges between flagship species and umbrella species; Promote people-to-people exchanges between China and foreign countries, and enhance the friendly feelings between Chinese and foreign peoples.

　　Liu Xuehua, a professor at Tsinghua University's School of Environment, believes that although the threat level of giant pandas has been downgraded from endangered to vulnerable, their survival is still worthy of attention under the current global climate and environmental changes.

　　"How global climate change will affect the breeding and survival of giant pandas in the wild, how the relationship between the rapidly developing human society and giant panda habitats will change, as well as the research and development of better and more advanced monitoring and protection technologies, the continuous expansion of the conservation talent team, and the construction and improvement of conservation disciplines should all be the research goals of the next cooperation." Liu Xuehua said.

　　The relevant person in charge of the China Wildlife Conservation Association said that with the in-depth development of cooperation in giant panda conservation, the level of international cooperation in biodiversity conservation will be further enhanced, the concept of ecological civilization in the mainland will be better disseminated, and people-to-people exchanges between China and foreign countries will be promoted, and the feelings of Chinese and foreign people will be enhanced.

Source: Xinhua News Agency