Panda Status As Endangered Has Been Reclassified
A top global conservation groups has taken the giant panda off its endangered species list. This is a great result and is the product of decades of conservation efforts. Despite this fact, the Government of China refused to accept the decision claiming the situation of the country’s most beloved symbol is no less serious.
Wild panda populations growing
Last week the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) issued a report which reclassified the giant panda as a “vulnerable” rather than “endangered” species. The decision reflects the fact that the species population in the wild has been growing in Southern China. According to the IUCN, wild panda numbers rose from 1,596 in 2004 to 1,864 in 2014. The rise is the result of the work Chinese conservation agencies have been putting in to enforcing bans on poaching and expanding forest reserves.
Climate change is a spoiler
Despite the good news the report also warned that whilst better forest protection had increased the population of wild pandas, climate change is going to eliminate as much as 35 per cent of the species natural bamboo habitat. In a statement China’s State Forestry Administration said it did not agree with the reclassification because the species natural habitat has been fragmented by both human and natural causes. This means that pandas live in small, isolated groups with as few as 10 bears that find it difficult to reproduce and still face the risk of extinction.
“If we downgrade their conservation status, or neglect or relax our conservation work, the populations and habitats of giant pandas could still suffer irreversible loss and our achievements would be quickly lost,” the forestry administration said. “Therefore, we’re not being alarmist by continuing to emphasise the panda species’ endangered status.”
Conservation groups thrilled
Despite the Chinese Government’s pessimism, animal groups hailed the recovery of the black-and-white bear that has long been a symbol of the global movement for conservation as well as China itself. The species population reached an approximate low of just under 1,000 during the 1980’s due to poaching and deforestation. Beijing then decided throw its entire weight behind efforts to preserve the panda. The animal was sent to a number of zoos around the world. WWF whose logo has been a panda since 1961 has revelled in the reclassification and says it proves that aggressive investment does produce dividends.
