China Focus: Giant panda conservation achievements mirror China's ecological progress

BEIJING -- China's iconic giant pandas, with their round faces, plump bodies, and signature markings, are beloved worldwide as both cultural symbols and emblems of biodiversity, reflecting the nation's remarkable ecological progress.

At the recently held Global Panda Partners 2024 conference in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province, further attention was drawn to China's panda conservation achievements and its efforts to protect the environment and endangered species.

Official data show the wild giant panda population has grown from around 1,100 in the 1980s to nearly 1,900. The global captive population of giant pandas now stands at 757. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has downgraded the giant panda's status from endangered to vulnerable.

Sichuan, the venue of the conference, is home to the largest panda habitat in the world. Here, 1,387 pandas have been found in the wild, an increase of more than 50 percent since the 1980s.

However, conservation has not been easy. For instance, it took dozens of tests to find the most suitable formula milk for panda cubs, according to Li Desheng, chief expert at China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.

"In the early days, the artificial breeding of giant pandas was a big problem. Throughout the 1980s, we only bred one baby panda, which survived for two years," Li recalled.

But with technological and scientific advancements, artificial breeding at present is seeing significantly improved estrus rate and panda cub survival rate, and pandas' average life expectancy has increased, according to the expert.

Giant pandas in China are also enjoying enlarged wild habitats. In 2021, China officially designated five national parks, including the Giant Panda National Park, which covers parts of the provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu.

Speaking at the Global Panda Partners 2024 opening ceremony on Nov 26, Guan Zhi'ou, head of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, said the country had formed a giant panda habitat protection system centered around the national park, with a total area of 2.58 million hectares. It has also achieved habitat connectivity and genetic exchange between 85 percent of the wild giant panda populations.

Giant panda conservation epitomizes China's ecological protection and restoration endeavors.

Apart from pandas, the country in recent years has strengthened research and international cooperation on the protection of other endangered species through various measures such as habitat protection, artificial breeding and cultivation, and reintroduction to nature.

The population of more than 300 rare and endangered wild animals and plants such as the Siberian tiger and Hainan gibbon has achieved steady growth.

During the conference, former UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova said that Chinese leadership had stressed the relationship between people and nature and called for efforts to create a community of life for man and nature. "This echoed profoundly with the concept of sustainable development embodied in the UN Agenda 2030, in whose implementation China is emerging as a leader."

Jordanian Ambassador to China, Hussam Al Husseini, said China provided a good example of ecological protection while pursuing modern development, expressing hope to introduce Chinese practices in areas such as the green economy and wildlife conservation to Jordan.