China’s wild panda population shoots up by 17%

SHANGHAI — The number of giant pandas living in the wild has increased by nearly 17 per cent over the past decade, a survey by the Chinese government showed.

The census released on Saturday, which was conducted by the country’s State Forestry Administration, found that 1,864 giant pandas were living in the wild by the end of 2013, an increase of 268 since the last survey in 2003.

Wild giant pandas are found only in China’s Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. The survey found that the area inhabited by the endangered species increased by nearly 12 per cent since the last survey to more than 2.5 million ha.

Mr John Baker, head of India and China regions at WWF UK, said the population increase “is a demonstration of the successful conservation actions taken by the government and the people of China”.

“Much of this success is due to the implementation of policy changes, including banning commercial logging in panda habitats and more effective management of forest protected areas,” said Mr Baker.

While traditional threats to pandas such as poaching appear to be on the decline, the animals remain vulnerable to dangers of the modern era.

China has 67 panda nature reserves, but 33 per cent of the wild panda population live outside these protected areas. They face an increasingly fragmented habitat, or isolation imposed by physical barriers.

Man-made infrastructure encroaching on panda habitats included 319 hydropower plants, nearly 275km of high-voltage electrical cables and 25 tourist sites.

The survival of 223 wild pandas is deemed to be at high risk, the survey said.

“There are still outstanding conflicts between the protection of the giant pandas and their habitats, and the local socio-economic development,” said Mr Chen Fengxue, deputy head of the forestry bureau, reported state news agency Xinhua.

“It can be concluded that the protection of giant pandas is still quite an arduous task,” he added.

China takes the protection of its wild giant pandas seriously. The survey is the fourth in a series of decadal polls and took 2,000 people 33 months to complete.

The country has also ramped up efforts to encourage its captive panda population to breed. There were 375 captive giant pandas at the end of 2013, more than double the 164 counted in the 2003 survey.

For decades, China has used its pandas to bolster relations with foreign countries. The practice, known as panda diplomacy, dates back to the Tang dynasty, when Empress Wu Zetian sent pandas to Japan.

In 1972, a pair of pandas procured during then United States President Richard Nixon’s visit to China helped thaw diplomatic relations after decades of isolationism by the communist state.

About 42 pandas and cubs are currently on loan to 12 countries, including Singapore. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH