WWF
Photograph by Michel Gunther
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How does WWF help giant pandas?
What success has WWF had?
Future targets of WWF
Who is WWF?
WWF, the Global Conservation Organisation (formerly World Wildlife Fund) has been around since 1961. The majority of us will be familiar with this organisation and recognise their logo featuring the giant panda. They were the pioneers in making people donate to conservation through adoption packs, which meant for a monthly fee you received regular updates on your adopted animal. A concept many conservation charities have followed suit with.
Their mission as an organisation is: To stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by: -
- Conserving the world’s biological diversity
- Ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable
- Promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption
What does WWF do?
WWF is currently running over 2000 projects across the globe. These projects range in their size and importance but all add to the global picture and the organisation’s aim. Project examples include: making product packaging more environmentally friendly, rescuing orangutans from the pet trade and establishing a huge new giant panda reserve in China.
How does WWF help giant pandas?
The WWF is the clear leader in helping conserve the giant panda population and have been involved in projects since 1980. They arrived at the invitation of the Chinese government and soon began work on field studies of ecology and behaviour to gain a grounding for understanding what was needed.
Current work is being conducted in the Minshan Mountains in Sichuan and Gansu provinces and also the Qinling Mountains in the Shaanxi province, obviously all in China (see below on map).
Panda habitat highlighted in red - some areas are very isolated
Current on-going projects include: -
1. Increasing nature reserves
Since the Chinese government introduced a logging ban in 1998 within certain areas there has been a big shift from deforestation to restoration. By increasing not only the size of these nature reserves but also the number means a greater area of habitat becomes protected from area loss and fragmentation.
The Minshan Mountains. Prime habitat of the giant panda
2. Creating bamboo corridors to link isolated pandas
There are 20 areas of habitat the pandas live in within their current range. These 20 are similar to islands of wilderness broken up by human activity such as roads, farms, cities and other development.
The current plan has been to link these mini islands together through a series of bamboo forest corridors, similar to a road bridge over water. This means the remaining pandas can extend their range, find more food and find other pandas to mate with, inevitably increasing the population and their genetic diversity. WWF and the Chinese government have so far successfully installed 10 corridors in the Minshan Qinling areas.
3. patrolling giant panda habitats
Another important piece of the conservation jigsaw is patrol units. WWF has been responsible for training hundreds of people in key skills needed to ensure the pandas are conserved with maximum success. Training has occurred in: reserve management, anti-poaching patrolling, wildlife monitoring and community based approaches.
4. Changing the behaviour of local people
WWF has been instrumental in teaching local people about how to protect the giant panda habitat without compromising their own income. There is still money to be made through sustainable logging methods and of course the increasing popularity of ecotourism (showing giant pandas to tourists but in the least habitat damaging way), it is just a case of making locals aware of these practices.
what success has wwf had?
In the 28 years WWF has been present in China, a big transformation has taken place with numerous success stories: -
Success...
The number of protected nature reserves in the panda habitat range has increased from 13 to over 50. This includes over 500,000 hectares of new and expanded nature reserves in the Minshan Mountains and 8 new nature reserves in the Qinling Mountains.
Success...
WWF has swayed local people from poaching or harvesting for traditional Chinese medicines within the nature reserves. Their main influencer has been providing buyers (e.g. Carrefour, a European Supermarket) of other products that can be grown locally such as pepper, walnuts and honey so the locals can make a living without having resort to old practices.
Giant panda doing what it does best - eating bamboo!
Success...
Better poaching protection for the pandas by increased numbers of staff and enhanced equipment.
Success...
Once the National Highway 108 was rerouted by a tunnel, WWF wasted no time alongside the Chinese government in planting a two hundred hectare bamboo tunnel. This helped link back the two largest regional populations of pandas in the Qinling Mountains.
Success...
Hundreds of energy saving systems have been provided and installed to those living around the giant panda habitats with the sole aim being to reduce the amount of fuel-wood harvested from the forests.
future targets of wwf...
The good work does not end there for WWF and it has set itself more tough challenges to achieve over the next 10-20 years: -
- No further decline of the 1600 population
- 30% expansion of the giant panda habitat
- A reconnection of all giant panda habitats in the Minshan region
- A 5% increase in forest cover
how can i help?
I’m sure we all appreciate what a wonderful animal the giant panda is and we need to do all we can to help protect them. As we cannot do it alone, lets give to those who can and by buying a t-shirt today you are donating vital funds that help fuel WWF's quest. To buy your funky Zhen Zhen t-shirt from our online shop - Click Here
If you would like to read more about the WWF and its activities concerning the giant panda then please Click Here
