Beijing, China – The Houzhenzi Forest Plantation, in the Qinling Mountains of Shaanxi province, has formally established a wildlife patrolling team that will further boost conservation of the giant panda.

Supported by WWF, the 30-member team will protect and monitor 51,167 hectares of the northern side of the Qinling Mountains, one of the few remaining natural habitats of the giant panda. The team was formally established in September 2002.

An estimated 15,000 hectares of the Houzhenzi Forest Plantation is giant panda habitat. In addition to the giant panda, the Qinling Mountains harbour more than 2,700 species of wild plants and 328 species of wild animals, many of which are legally protected under China's laws. These include the golden monkey, takin, crested ibis, golden eagle, and clouded leopard.

Commercial logging took place at the Houzhenzi Forest Plantation until the logging ban in 1998. In 1999, the plantation began developing tourism in the area, which is now growing rapidly. This has offered both challenges and opportunities for conservation.

The wildlife patrolling and monitoring team is one component of WWF’s Qinling Panda Focal project, which in addition to enlarging the protected habitat of the giant panda and minimizing fragmentation, seeks to minimize the negative impact of economic activities within the panda habitat in Qinling. A mechanism for tourism revenue to support the team in the future is currently being established.

The first international conservation organization invited to work in China, WWF has been working on giant panda conservation in China since 1980.

WWF would like to thank Amelie Han for translating this article.

For further information:

Ms. Li Ning, Communications Coordinator, Species Program, WWF China Programme. Tel: 86-10- 8563-6538 ext. 223. Fax: 86-10- 8561-5731. Email: nli@wwfchina.org