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Good News: Giant Pandas Off The Endangered List

Photo from Pixabay

There’s good news regarding the world’s most vulnerable wildlife species: the giant panda has been reclassified from ‘Endangered’ to ‘Vulnerable’ on the global list of animals nearing extinction, WWF reports.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared that the giant panda’s status on the Red List of Threatened Species can now be shifted, as the species has seen a 17% increase in its population. A survey reported 1,864 giant pandas in the wild in China, showing just how effective an integrated approach is in conserving the planet’s diminishing biodiversity.

Marco Lambertini, WWF Director General, says,

For over fifty years, the giant panda has been the globe’s most beloved conservation icon as well as the symbol of WWF. Knowing that the panda is now a step further from extinction is an exciting moment for everyone committed to conserving the world’s wildlife and their habitats.

He says the positive change in the giant pandas’ status demonstrates how “science, political will and engagement of local communities” can work together.

The giant panda is the WWF’s standard-bearer, appearing on the organization’s logo. The logo was designed by the group’s founding chairman, Sir Peter Scott, in 1961. In the 1980s, WWF became the first international group to work in China, partnering with the Chinese government on programs to save the giant pandas and their habitats.

WWF, government authorities and other conservation groups helped establish a network of giant panda reserves and wildlife corridors so that isolated panda populations could interact with others. Along with these were initiatives to raise awareness, educate people and develop sustainable livelihoods for locals so that they would not have to turn on the forests or pandas.

Because of these efforts, the number of panda reserves now numbers 67 — they protect almost two-thirds of all wild pandas. The reserves also guard large areas of bamboo forests that provide for other animals aside from the pandas.

The reclassification is a recognition of cumulative work, and is solid proof that investing in the conservation of a species can be done, and is beneficial to everyone. While there are many more animals that need continuous protection, the fact that the giant panda has recovered is a step forward towards ensuring that the world’s wildlife is kept safe and free.

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