The good news is that giant panda numbers are increasing. Slowly but surely this remarkable species is edging away from the brink of extinction - thanks to a host of successful conservation projects.

But pandas still face a number of threats, particularly habitat loss and fragmentation, so extra efforts are needed to ensure that they continue to survive and thrive.

Creating new reserves and linking up existing panda populations are key to the species' future. The Chinese authorities have increased the number of panda reserves to 67 in recent years, but this still leaves around 1/3rd of wild pandas outside protected areas.

The Chinese government, in partnership with WWF, has also developed bamboo corridors to link pockets of forest, allowing the pandas within them to move to new areas, find more food and meet more potential breeding mates.

But with panda habitat continuing to be fragmented by roads, railways and other human development, additional corridors will be needed to connect isolated panda populations.

• Providing local communities with alternative livelihoods that provide a sustainable income for families while reducing the negative impact of medicinal plant harvesting and poaching;
   
• Helping people to find a wider market for their locally produced goods, such as honey, pepper, walnuts and potatoess;
   
• Providing villages with alternative energy sources, such as wood-saving stoves and bio-gas from pig manure, so people can cook and stay warm while harvesting less wood from the forests;
   
• Showing communities how to protect panda habitat without compromising their economic livelihoods by training them in sustainable logging methods, introducing new income-generating activities like ecotourism, and raising awareness about conservation.