RETURN TO THE WILD
The national park plan has had to address significant economic and practical challenges, Hou says. Panda conservation work has gone through three major stages: breeding, reintroduction to the wild and the national park.
"We had to start captive-breeding programs in the late 1990s, as the number of pandas dropped dramatically in the 1980s, partly because of a periodic natural die-off of bamboo," says Hou.
Chinese scientists toiled to breed the reclusive animal in captivity, overcoming some early failures. Last year, 64 cubs were born and 54 survive in nature reserves and zoos, according to the State Forestry Administration.
Scientists are also troubled by the pandas' inbreeding. For many years, they worked with international research teams to make pandas one of the most genetically diverse animals in captivity.
In order to enrich the gene pool, CCRCGP started the reintroduction program in 2003. It has reintroduced seven pandas into the wild, but two died.
Keeping them behind the bars is the last thing CCRCGP director Zhang Hemin wants. "The goal of breeding and reintroduction is to eventually put the animals back into bamboo forests and expect them to mate with their wild cousins."
Thanks to these dogged conservation efforts, 1,864 pandas remain in the wild, 17 percent more than a decade ago, according to the most recent national survey in February 2015.
The aim is to raise the wild population to more than 2,000 by 2025. This requires a large protection area and an upgraded eco-system. "That' s why many scientists and conservation experts support the building of a national park," says Hou, who made the suggestion in 2014.
Few people are aware of how pandas live in the wild, says Hou. Much of their range is fragmented, and only a few large continuous tracts remain where the animals can roam freely.
According to a report by WWF, roads and railroads are increasingly fragmenting the forest, which further isolates panda populations and prevents mating, while forest destruction reduces their access to the bamboo they need to survive.
Some sub-populations number fewer than 10 members. This makes them vulnerable to disease and reproductive problems, and less able to adapt to a changing environment.
While the park paints a wonderful picture for the conservation of pandas and the restoration of the ecological system, it also faces challenges and risks.
Restoring effective corridors for panda migration is no easy job. Twenty corridor plans across the six mountains have been proposed since 1988, but few came to reality.
"China still needs to do more empirical studies and to carry out conservation activities to put these corridors into real use," says Melissa Songer, a conservation biologist from the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park.
In 2015, China's National Development and Reform Commission and the Chicago-based Paulson Institute signed a cooperation framework protocol to carry out pilot programs and case studies.
"Past experience has told us how much a national park can do for a country's environment and ecology," says David Wildt, a senior scientist from the Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute.
"I am delighted to see China's breakthrough in panda breeding and reintroduction programs. But it's time to test if these measures work out in the new system of national parks."
