If wildlife habitats are
strictly protected…
In the past the habitat of the Giant Panda was
degraded and divided into isolated parts due to improper use of
different natural resources. Sichuan Province is the key area for this
ancient, rare and endangered species today. More than 900 individuals
live in an area of more than 10,000 sqkm. These are more than 80% of the
total population worldwide. 22 Nature Reserves for Giant Panda were set
up in Sichuan during the last 35 years. Today about 4,000 sqkm of Panda
habitat are strictly protected as National or Provincial Nature
Reserves.
…local residents
probably have economical disadvantages…
If those reserves are effectively and efficiently managed they provide
optimal protection for the remaining panda population. But the local
residents living in or around the reserve lose a part of their basis of
life. In the reserves it is not allowed to collect fire wood or medical
plants or to graze life stock. Forest farms and logging companies lose
some of their former area and have to stop their annual cut. In many
cases the protection efforts lead to an increasing wildlife population
and wildlife damages the fields and crops of farmers near the
reserves. That all means economical losses if new approaches for living
and production are not adapted.
…which have to be
compensated with new approaches.
To protect nature and to maintain a certain standard of living it is
necessary that all stakeholders cooperate effectively. The
administrations of nature reserves will protect their wildlife resources
more successfully. The local residents will practis environmentally
sound methods which lead to a sustainable use of natural resources and
will at the same time compensate the economical losses.
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