Ecological Degradation in Protected Areas: The Case of Wolong Nature Reserve for Giant Pandas

Abstract

It is generally perceived that biodiversity is better protected from human activities after an area is designated as a protected area. However, we found that this common perception was not true in Wolong Nature Reserve (southwestern China), which was established in 1975 as a "flagship" protected area for the world-renowned endangered giant pandas. Analyses of remote sensing data from pre- and post-establishment periods indicate that the reserve has become more fragmented and less suitable for giant panda habitation. The rate of loss of high-quality habitat after the reserve's establishment was much higher than before the reserve was created, and the fragmentation of high-quality habitat became far more severe. After the creation of the reserve, rates of habitat loss and fragmentation inside the reserve unexpectedly increased to levels that were similar to or higher than those outside the reserve, in contrast to the situation before the reserve was created.

Local people's perceptions as decision support for protected area management in Wolong Biosphere Reserve, China

“…Harvesting trees for fuelwood before 2001 led to panda habitat degradation and caused problems with the reserve's effectiveness in biodiversity conservation (Liu et al, 2001). In order to protect the forest and reduce local people's dependence on fuelwood, a policy prohibiting fuelwood collection and switching to electricity is being implemented.…”

“…In WBR, because of the rapid increase in population, especially the rate of increase in the labor force, which was three times higher than the rate of change in the total population, ecological degradation of the Giant Panda's habitat occurred (Liu et al, 1999b(Liu et al, , 2001). Therefore, a clear understanding of local people's responses to conservation through various management policies is necessary.…”

“…Therefore we selected Wolong Biosphere Reserve (WBR), a flagship nature reserve for protecting Giant Panda in China, as our case study site to conduct the research. This is because: (1) WBR has been fragmented by local people's activities (Liu et al, 2001); and (2) three new forest policies were implemented recently, i.e. Switch from Fuelwood to Electricity, Conversion of Cultivated Land into Forests, and Natural Forest Protection Project, which are closely related to biodiversity conservation and local people's welfare.…”

Economic Development, Rural livelihoods, and Ecological Restoration: Evidence from China

“…To mitigate the degradation of the environment, and to eliminate environment-induced poverty, China has implemented a number of large-scale national conservation programs, including the Natural Forest Conservation Program (NFCP), Grain to Green Program (GTGP), Forest Eco-Compensation Program, as well as numerous local projects (Loucks et al 2001;Xu et al 2006;Liu et al 2008). While the literature on Chinese ecological restoration and rural poverty reduction is extensive, a majority of them overemphasizes the function of ecological projects (Liu et al 2001;Liang et al 2006;Zhang 2006), but neglects the function of economic development and rural livelihood improvement. There is still a dearth of holistic and rational interpretation, which this article aimed to contribute to.…”

Household strategies in the face of resource scarcity in coastal Ghana: are they associated with development priorities?

“…Indeed, some have argued that the household is, in fact, the most appropriate analytical unit given its primacy in resource acquisition and consumption (e.g., Liu et al, 2001). …”