Problems
Ongoing threats to the panda's survival
Despite the conservation success in the panda's habitat in recent years problems still persist.
The major factors contributing to habitat loss and fragmentation — the most pressing threats to the giant panda — are:
The illegal wildlife trade and the natural phenomenon of bamboo die-back are also threats.
Because of China's dense and growing human population, many panda populations are isolated in narrow belts of bamboo no more than 1.2km wide — and panda habitat is continuing to disappear as settlers push higher up the mountain slopes.
The major factors contributing to habitat loss and fragmentation — the most pressing threats to the giant panda — are:
- conversion of forests to agricultural areas,
- medicinal herb collection,
- bamboo harvesting,
- poaching, and
- large-scale development activities such as road construction, hydropower development, and mining.
The illegal wildlife trade and the natural phenomenon of bamboo die-back are also threats.
Because of China's dense and growing human population, many panda populations are isolated in narrow belts of bamboo no more than 1.2km wide — and panda habitat is continuing to disappear as settlers push higher up the mountain slopes.
Grazing cattle is problematic within the giant panda reserve. Mixed forest in the mist in the background. Giant panda habitat. Wanglang Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China
