Promoting environmental education in primary school is part of WWF's Minshan project.

Minshan is a forested region in northern Sichuan and southern Gansu provinces that is the most important remaining stronghold of the giant panda. The aim of this project is to increase giant panda populations and their habitats by at least 10% by 2012 in Minshan through the mitigation of key threats to pandas and their habitat and the implementation of model conservation approaches by WWF and its partners. At the same time, the project aims to maintain panda populations and their habitats elsewhere at stable levels through effective project demonstration and magnification.

To achieve this goal, this project focuses on solving fragmentation of the panda habitat in the Minshan mountain range. This includes promoting the creation of new panda reserves and ecological corridors, facilitating the conservation action network, and guiding ecotourism development in the reserves of the region.

Pingwu ICDP (Integrated Conservation and Development Project )

The endangered golden monkey shares the same habitat as the giant panda.

Pingwu county in the Minshan mountain range supports the largest number of pandas of any county in China, with over 200 resident animals. However, forest loss and degradation, resulting from unsustainable ways of development, has led to a growing conflict between wildlife and humans.

WWF China's Pingwu ICDP was launched in 1997 and concluded in 2002. The goal of Pingwu ICDP was to promote the conservation of the giant panda through the active participation of pilot reserves, communities, tourists, enterprises, governments and non-governmental organizations.

Since 2001, ecotourism management regulations have been implemented; trails have been designed; ecotourism training workshops have been organized for over 50 nature reserves staff, professional guides and local community members; and environmental information and lectures for tourists have been developed. Wanglang Reserve and the Baima community have started to host international tourist groups. Wanglang Reserve's scenic sites and ecolodge have also been awarded the Australian NEAP ecotourism accreditation.

Since 2000, in cooperation with the county's Education Committee and Culture Bureau, Pingwu ICDP has organized extracurricular activities in nine primary schools of three autonomous towns of the Baima community that are located in panda habitats. Some small–scale environment projects have also obtained support from tourists to Wanglang Reserve since 2001. In addition, Pingwu ICDP has designed an environmental education program targeting adult tourists, college and middle school students and local villagers.

WWF works with the local Baima community to promote alternative livelihoods to logging.

Through monitoring, patrolling, ecotourism, reserve management and other programs, the capacity of project partners has improved rapidly. This has also led to improvement in the management of Wanglang and Si’er nature reserves. Meanwhile, Pingwu ICDP has created the basis for long-term cooperation among different stakeholders.

An evaluation of Pingwu ICDP was completed in August 2002. It has led to the improvement of weak aspects of the project (eg, ecotourism management in Wanglang Nature Reserve and in the Baima ethnic community and alternative livelihood development in local communities) and helped initiate new conservation actions at the landscape level.

Program news

WWF project links panda habitats in and outside of China's panda reserves, June 25, 2003

Ecotourism as an alternative to logging in panda habitat, June 23, 2003