Giant Pandas off endangered list

HONOLULU: The Giant Panda is no longer under the “Endangered” category but listed as “Vulnerable” now by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, a move which the Chinese government thinks “it’s too soon to say”.
Previously listed as Endangered, the Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is now listed as Vulnerable, as its population has grown due to effective forest protection and reforestation.
The improved status confirms that the Chinese government’s efforts to conserve this species are effective.
“However, climate change is predicted to eliminate more than 35% of the panda’s bamboo habitat in the next 80 years and thus Panda population is projected to decline, reversing the gains made during the last two decades. To protect this iconic species, it is critical that the effective forest protection measures are continued and that emerging threats are addressed,” IUCN Red List said.
However, Chinese State Forestry Administration (SFA), which focuses on animal conservation efforts in the country has released a statement in response to the giant panda being relabeled as “vulnerable”.
They believed the move to be premature and could potentially mislead people to believe conservation efforts can be dialed down.
According to SFA, wild pandas are still being separated into small groups, most of which are made up of less than 30 individuals.
“Since these groups don’t interact, this fragmentation is detrimental to the gene pool and thus the health of the species,” it said.
Wang Dajun, an accessor at IUCN and researcher at Peking University’s School of Life Sciences, told Chinese media that the relabeling doesn’t mean conservation efforts can be scaled back.
“It is only a reflection of the fact that their habitats have improved and China can do more to protect the panda,” he said.