Giant Panda

WWF considers the giant panda to be a 'flagship' species: that is, a charismatic representative of the biologically rich temperate forest it inhabits. By conserving the giant panda and its habitat, many other species will also be conserved — as will water resources that are essential for the future of hundreds of millions of people.

Projects include research, monitoring, patrolling against poaching and illegal logging and building local capacities for nature reserve management. In addition, WWF supports social development projects including ecotourism and training for local communities. Current work focuses on two priority areas, the Minshan Mountains in Sichuan Province and the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi Province.

Read More about WWF's work after the Sichuan Province Earthquake

Increasing nature reserves

Wolong Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China
© George B. Schaller / WWF

Since the Chinese government instituted a logging ban in 1998, a shift from deforestation to forest restoration began. Even with increasing forest conservation, much of the panda's habitat remains outside of the reserve system – making it difficult to protect the species from illegal logging, poaching and harvesting medicinal plants for traditional Chinese medicines.

By creating new reserves, the Chinese government can help stop the most potent threats to the panda's survival - habitat loss and fragmentation of wilderness. There are now more than 50 reserves protecting pandas and their habitat.

Creating green corridors

To connect pandas that live in isolated forests, WWF has identified zones that can be turned into corridors of bamboo so pandas can find more food and meet new mates. The Chinese government, in partnership with WWF, created 10 corridors in Qinling and Minshan.

Watch the corridor cartoon to see how linking habitats helps pandas:

View the interactive map to see the reserves and corridors in Qinling and Minshan:

Training and research

WWF has trained more than 300 panda reserve staff and local government officials in nature reserve management, wildlife monitoring, anti-poaching patrolling and innovative community-based conservation approaches. We are also helping to train local people to enforce reserve boundaries.

Prof. Hu Jinchu measuring a giant panda den in Wolong Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China.
© George B. Schaller / WWF

Researchers in the Wanglang Nature Reserve have placed camera traps throughout the reserve. The cameras are triggered by movement and record images of pandas and some of the other amazing wildlife that share the panda's habitat. The cameras, along with new GPS technology, are helping to create a more accurate picture of the number of pandas in the wild.

The success of panda conservation in recent years owes much to the work of Chinese and international researchers working with WWF, governments, universities and other organizations. Ongoing research and monitoring of pandas will be vital to our conservation success.